OMON JUNEAU 





Class __/_ S Y 

Cop)T!gIlt W.. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




SOLOMON JUNEAU, 

At the Age of 60. 

(From an Oil Tainting.) 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 



zA BIOGRAPHY 

WITH SKETCHES OF 
THE JUNEAU FAMILY 



By ISABELLA FOX 



Printed by 

Evening Wisconsin Printing Co., 

Milwaukee, Wis. 






To the memory of my dear Grand- 
parents and Parents, this book is 
dedicated with thoughts of love by the 
Author. 



NOV H !9!B 



Copyright 1916 

By Isabella Fox. 

(All Rights Reserved.) 



4*45504 




AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



N preparing this history, the author has endeavored 
to portray clearly and authentically the true life and 
character of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau. A 
great deal has been said in various histories regarding them, 
but few, if any, have penetrated their inner life or ante- 
dated the year Mr. Juneau settled permanently in Milwaukee. 

In placing this volume before the public, the writer 
wishes to state she has done so at the earnest solicitation of 
other grandchildren of Mr. Juneau. 

The photographic illustrations were made expressly for 
this work. Mr. M. A. Boardman, Marshal of the Old 
Settler's Club, Milwaukee, loaned a number of engravings. 

The author desires to express deep gratitude to those 
who kindly assisted in the preparation of this work, among 
whom are Mr. Henry W. Bleyer, Madison, Historian of 
the Old Settler's Club, Milwaukee; Mr. John D. Lawe, 
Kaukauna, whose personal acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. 
Juneau, enabled him to give valuable information ; Mr. F. E. 
Pond, Cincinnati ; Mr. John G. Gregory, Milwaukee ; Miss 
Olive Jane McGee, Milwaukee, and many others who have 
given material aid by loaning letters and manuscripts. 

Isabella Fox. 




FOREWORD. 

HE name of Solomon Juneau has long been honored, 
alike for the sterling integrity, the true nobility of 
the man, and for his generous benefactions in the 
upbuilding of the city he founded nearly a century ago, near 
the Milwaukee bluff on the shore of Lake Michigan. He 
was the ideal pioneer — heroic in size and character — generous 
by nature, just in all his dealings, whether as a fur trader 
with the red man, or in business transactions with his fellow 
townsmen, through the trying times when early settlers often 
required fraternal assistance, and the embryo city in the 
wilderness was ever the gainer through his benevolence, for 
selfishness was non-existent in him. Had he been governed 
by avarice he might have become a very wealthy man, but 
in even greater degree than most of the time-honored 
pioneers of the great Northwest, he evinced the spirit — fast 
fading in present day methods of municipal management in 
many cities — of subordinating self and zealously promoting 
public welfare. 

That Solomon Juneau was honored by Milwaukee in 
being selected as its first chief executive ; that he in turn was 
an honor to the city in his administration of affairs ; that he 
lived to see the transformation of virgin forest and verdant 
vale into the metropolis of the Badger State; that his passing 
elicited the unfeigned sorrow of all who knew him — all this 
is known and recorded in historical records, imperishable. 
His personal deeds of kindness, unnumbered and for the 
most part forgotten, presumably, by the benefactor himself 
during the years of his busy life — these may be to a small 

5 



degree remembered by the few surviving friends, but form- 
ing a chapter of rare interest if it were possible to present 
it, even in brief. 

In Henry W. Bleyer's very entertaining "Guide to Mil- 
waukee," published in 1873, the following appropriate lines 
appear, in connection with reference to the death of Solomon 
Juneau : 

" 'Twas meet that he should die where swarthy chiefs 
Could gaze upon the face of their tried friend; 
Where silent squaws could through the darkness steal 
To breathe a prayer and kiss his honored head — 
That they should bury him and think him theirs. 
And it was meet that he should here be brought 
For his loved children and the city's sake, 
That he twice honored and twice buried be, 
For here his like we ne'er again shall see." " 

As a fitting memorial at this time — Milwaukee's centen- 
nial being near at hand — the present volume by Miss Isabella 
Fox, a granddaughter of Solomon Juneau, seems especially 
appropriate, and the information carefully gathered from 
reliable sources, relating to the pioneer and his descendants, 
will be found not only interesting, but of practical value as 
an addition to the local history of Milwaukee and its 

founder. 

Fred. E. Pond. 

(Will Wildwood.) 



'The lines were written by B. I. Dorward. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Author's Preface 3 

Foreword 5 

Solomon Juneau 9 

Unveiling of the Juneau Monument 23 

Mrs. Solomon Juneau 53 

Press Notice on Death of Mrs. Juneau 61 

Miscellaneous 64 

Biographical Sketches of Juneau Children 71 

Inaugural Address of Solomon Juneau as Mayor of Mil- 
waukee 131 

Address of Solomon Juneau on Retiring as Mayor of Mil- 
waukee 13 4 

Address of Hon. Henry W. Bleyer 136 

Address of Hon. C. A. A. McGee 139 

An Interesting Letter 148 

Press Notices on the Death of Solomon Juneau 154 

Funeral of Solomon Juneau 156 

Incidents 169 

Miscellaneous Data 178 

Pages from an Old Account Book of Solomon Juneau. ... 187 
Brief Biographies: 

Ah-Ke-Na-Po-Way, 193; Joseph Le Roi, 193; Jacque 
Vieaux, 194; O-Not-Sah, 197; Onaugesa, 198; 
Pierre Juneau, 198; Narcisse Juneau, 199; Angeline 
Juneau, 200; Charles A. A. McGee, 203; Paul O. 
Hustiug, 207; Hercules Juneau, 208; Alfred Juneau, 
208; Romance of Wa-Pa-No-Kiew, 209. 

Chronological Record 215 

Derivation of the Word Milwaukee 218 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

Solomon Juneau Frontispiece 

Old Log House and Warehouse 11 

Diagram Showing Exact Location of Log House and Ware- 
house 12 

Juneau Home, Milwaukee and Division Streets 14 

Juneau Monument 22' 

Mrs. Solomon Juneau 52 

Birthplace of Mrs. Juneau. Old Stone Fireplace 56 

Veronica's Handkerchief 60" 

Home of Narcisse M. Juneau 66 

Granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Juneau in Indian Costume. 88 
Sons and Daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Juneau: 

Narcisse, 70; Paul, 74; Theresa, 8 0'; Francis Dodge, 
84; Elizabeth Josette, 91; Charlotte, 94; Margaret, 
98'; Eugene, 104"; Mathilde, 108; Ellen Frances, 112Y 
Marie, 116; Isabella Rebecca, 122"; Bonduel F., 126.^ 

Juneau Home, E. Water and Michigan Streets 168' 

Trading Post and Log House of Jacque Vieaux 195 

C. A. A. McGee 202- 

Paul O. Husting 206" 

Wigwam, Trading Post, Juneau Store, Ludington Block, 

and Pabst Building, E. Water and Wisconsin Streets. 214 N 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 



THE FOUNDER OF MILWAUKEE 

RIO ORE than a century ago, two thousand miles inter- 
i § vening, two babes were born, a boy and a girl, who 

reH were destined to play important roles in the early 
history of the great Northwest. The boy was born of pure 
Alsatian French parents, the girl was of French and Indian 
extraction. The boy was reared in a home of refinement 
and culture, the girl grew to womanhood amidst the primi- 
tive surroundings of the frontier. Fate decreed they should 
meet. 

Across the broad expanse of wilderness extending from 
the St. Lawrence Valley to the beautiful shores of La Baye 
Verte, (Green Bay,) braving the perils and hardships which 
lay before him, this young man — in all the strength and 
beauty of youth — came to seek his fortune in this land of 
vast commercial advantages. It was at the old Indian trading 
post in historic Green Bay that he met the noblednearted 
child of the forest that fate had decreed should be his. 
Joined in the holy bonds of matrimony, they began their 
journey through life and together laid the foundation of a 
city. 

At the outbreak of the French revolution, in 1789, 
Francois and Therese La Tulipe left France and sought 
refuge in Canada, settling in the little hamlet of L'Asump- 
tion, near Montreal. As did many others who left France 
during those troublous times, they changed their name from 

9 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

La Tulipe to that of Juneau, trying in a way to obliterate all 
sad memories connected with having to leave the land of 
their birth and of their honored ancestors. 

"The French revolution was a violent reaction against 
that absolutism which had come in time to supplant the 
old feudal institutions of the country. It began with an 
outbreak of insurrectionary movements in July, 1789, in- 
cluding the destruction of the Bastile. On January 21, 1793, 
King Louis XVI. was beheaded, the Christian religion was 
deposed, the sacredness of the republic and worship of 
reason established, and a disastrous reign of blood and terror 
followed, which was brought to an end in 1794, when 
Robespierre, himself, suffered the same fate to which he had 
condemned countless numbers of his countrymen." — Library 
of University Knowledge, Vol. XII., p. 598. 

Solomon Laurent Juneau, the subject of this sketch, 
second son of Francois and Therese Juneau, was born at 
L'Asumption, Can., on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, 
August 9, 1793, where his boyhood days were spent. On 
reaching manhood, he became imbued with the spirit of ad- 
venture so common among the young men of the St. Law- 
rence Valley in those early days, and during the summer of 
1816,* at the age of 23 years, he left L'Asumption to seek 
his fortune in the great Northwest, arriving in Mackinac in 
September. Shortly after his arrival at that place, he met 
Jacque Vieaux, a French trader, who had trading posts at 
Mackinac, Green Bay and Milwaukee, and into whose em- 
ploy he entered at the Green Bay and Milwaukee posts as 



*Foot Note — The statement frequently made, that Mr. Juneau 
made two trips to the Northwest, is an error. He made but one trip, 
1816, at which time he remained permanently. 



THE FOUNDER OF MILWAUKEE 



a clerk, which position he held until the year 1818, after 
which year he was not connected with Mr. Vieaux in a 
business way. 

He attended the village school at L'Asumption, later 
entering a Catholic college where he completed his educa- 
tion. He was well educated in French, and was in this 
country but a short time before he mastered the English 
language which he spoke fluently, and was well versed in 
many Indian dialects, especially the Menominee tongue. 

Solomon Laurent Juneau was a man of rare personality. 
Of commanding figure, in height he was six feet four 
inches, he had brown curly hair, clear cut features, and large 
grey eyes. While of a jovial temperament, he never for 
a moment lost his natural dignity; of a kind and benevolent 
nature, he was the friend and confidant of all. The Indians 
looked upon him as a father, and whatever advice their be- 
loved "Solomo" gave them, was accepted and followed in 
every detail. His word was sacred, and once given, nothing 
could make him change his promise either in public or 
private life. ^ ,-^ - , - C^^^e- 




LOG HOUSE AND WAREHOUSE OF SOLOMON JUNEAU, 

East Water and Wisconsin Streets. 

II 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 



During the year 1818 the American Fur Company estab- 
lished a trading post at Milwaukee and Mr. Juneau was 
their authorized agent up to the time of the removal of the 
Indians in 1838. He, however, continued in business on his 
own account in Milwaukee until 1852, when he removed 
with his family to Theresa, Wis. 

Mason Street. 

























Warehouse. 




















Log 
House. 











Wisconsin Street. 

Diagram showing exact location of log house and storehouse, North- 
west corner of East Water and Wisconsin streets, according to 
statements made by Mr. Juneau's children in Jas. S. 
Buck's "Milwaukee Under the Charter," Vol. IV., p. 62. 
12 




JUNEAU HOME, 

Corner of Milwaukee and Division Street. 

(From a Painting by Mrs. F. E. Pond, Cincinnati, Ohio.) 



THE FOUNDER OF MILWAUKEE 

As agent of the American Company he settled in Mil- 
waukee in 1818, at which time he erected the log house, 
corner of East Water and Wisconsin streets, which he 
occupied as his residence until the year 1835, when he 
erected a dwelling house on the southeast corner of Michi- 
gan and East W r ater streets, where he resided a number of 
years, later building the commodious dwelling, corner of 
Milwaukee and Division (now Juneau Avenue) streets, 
where he lived until 1852. 

During his many trips as an Indian trader between Mil- 
waukee and Green Bay, he was attracted to a pretty spot on 
the banks of the Rock River where during the early thirties 
he established a trading post, which in later years became a 
prosperous little village. Mr. Juneau named the post 
Theresa, in honor of his mother, whose memory and early 
teachings he held sacred and were his guiding spirit in all 
dealings through life with his fellow-man. Mr. Juneau's 
mother died Feb. 2, 18 15. His father died in 1828. 

In September, 1820, Mr. Juneau married Miss Josette 
Vieaux, of Green Bay. Seventeen children were born to 
them, three dying in youth. Seven of their children were 
born in the old log house. Mr. and Mrs. Juneau resided 
continuously in Milwaukee for thirty-two years. 

White men had visited Milwaukee trading with the In- 
dians prior to the advent of Solomon Juneau, but their stay 
was of short duration. To Mr. Juneau must be conceded 
the honor of being the first permanent white settler, as well 
as the first land owner, he having acquired title to a large 

15 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

tract of land. He was known as the most successful of all 
the Indian traders in and around Milwaukee, being closely 
connected with the commercial life of that region. 

He was closely identified with every step in the progress 
of Milwaukee. In 1835, when a postoffice was established, 
he was appointed postmaster, which office he held for a 
period of nine years. In 1837, when Milwaukee was in- 
corporated as a village, he was elected president. In 1846, 
when Milwaukee became a city, he was chosen its first 
mayor. He encouraged every undertaking that could 
benefit the community. He was a member of the State 
Historical Society, and was liberal in his contributions to 
its archives and picture gallery. Aside from his interests 
on the East side, he had property on the West side. He 
and Byron Kilbourn were warm personal friends and close 
business associates in many enterprises. He assisted Mr. 
Kilbourn in the platting of the West side. Mr. Kilbourn 
was an intimate friend of Mr. Juneau's entire family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Juneau were generous in their gifts to the 
city which they founded. He built the first court house, and 
with the land upon which it stood, they presented it to the 
county, that the people might have a temple of justice. They 
gave the land upon which St. Peter's Catholic church stood, 
(corner of Martin and Jackson streets), and the material for 
building, that their family, the incoming white population 
and the Indians might have a place of worship ; they gave 
largely to St. John's Cathedral, among which was a strip of 
land between the pastor's house and the Cathedral, for 
16 



THE FOUNDER OF MILWAUKEE 

which they and their descendants were forever to have two 
seats in the church ; they gave the land for the first govern- 
ment lighthouse at the head of Wisconsin street ; they gave 
the land, corner of Milwaukee and Division streets, whereon 
a college was erected. All this they gave that their city might 
be as other cities. To those who were too poor to buy, they 
gave land and in many instances the material for building, 
that their poor might have homes. 

They were fond of entertaining their friends and 
possessed the virtues of hospitality and that warmth of heart 
which was characteristic of those good old pioneer days. 

The few remaining old settlers look back with fond 
recollection to those ties of friendship and good cheer which 
at all times prevailed in and around the Juneau home. 

Mr. Jean Pierre Husting, Mayville, Wis., once said of 
Mr. and Mrs. Juneau : "They united in their personality 
those qualities of unselfishness, generosity, Christianity, 
nobility of purpose and good will toward all mankind, rarely, 
if ever, found in any one individual." 

After his removal to Theresa, Mr. Juneau engaged in 
many business pursuits, among which were a general mer- 
chandise store, saw and grist mill, trading with the Indians. 
He was postmaster of the village. At the time of his death 
he was reputed to have left quite a fortune. Aside from 
his business enterprises, he had large real estate holdings. 

Mr. Juneau lived to see his Indian trading post at Mil- 
waukee develop into a thriving city, which from the very 
first had been his highest ideal. 

17 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

In the early part of November, 1856, Mr. Juneau left 
Fond du Lac for the Indian reservation at Keshena, near 
Shawano, Wis., to attend the annual payment of the Indians. 
He had not been well for some time, the death of his wife 
had completely crushed his spirit and broken his health. His 
daughter, Airs. Frank Fox, at whose home he had been 
visiting in Fond du Lac prior to his departure for the 
reservation, tried in vain to persuade her father to abandon 
the trip, but all effort on her part and that of her husband 
were of no avail. Owing to his indisposition and the in 
clement weather, he was taken very ill shortly after his 
arrival on the reservation, and he continued to grow worse 
until November 14, when he passed away. 

All that medical aid and careful nursing could do was 
done for him. Drs. Heubschmann and Wiley did not leave 
his bedside until death came. To Dr. Heubschmann he gave 
his dying messages for his children, and he proved a faithful 
messenger. With him at the time of his death were Dr. 
Heubschmann, Indian agent, Dr. Wiley, Hon. Geo. W. 
Lawe, B. Hunkins, Edward Outhwaite, Wm. Johnson, Wm. 
Powell, Chas. Corron and others. At the time of his death 
Mr. Juneau was 63 years, 3 months and 5 days. 

When the announcement of his death reached Milwau- 
kee, it was a great shock to the citizens and in fact to the 
entire country reaching from Green Bay to Chicago. The 
Indians were broken hearted over the loss of their beloved 

♦Foot Note — Solomon Juneau's grave on the Keshena reservation 
is still open, and from its center an evergreen tree has grown, a 
fitting emblem to his revered memory. 



THE FOUNDER OF MILWAUKEE 

"Solomo". He was buried on the reservation, the Indians 
would have it so. Had not the "Great Manitou" claimed his 
spirit. Why then did they not have the right to claim his 
body. The spot selected by the Indians for his grave was on 
a knoll just back of the Council house. But there were 
others who claimed him — his grief -stricken children and 
the citizens of Milwaukee. 

The funeral on the reservation was held from the Catho- 
lic church, followed by a large concourse of white men and 
Indians. Four of his pall-bearers were Indians, one of whom 
was the famous Chief Oshkosh. During the services at the 
grave, the deep and solemn grief of the Indians, both men 
and women, over the loss of their "Solomo", was indeed 
pathetic. 

When the news of Mr. Juneau's death reached Theresa, 
his sons Narcisse and Paul, and his son-in-law, Frank Fox, 
left for the reservation to convey the remains to Milwaukee, 
the trip both ways being made by team. The Indians accom- 
panied them as far as Shawano, loth to give up all that 
remained of their beloved friend. 

On arriving at Milwaukee, his remains were taken to 
the home of his daughter, Mrs. H. K. White. The funeral 
was held on November 26, from St. John's Cathedral, Rev. 
Father Riordan officiating. Interment was in the Catholic 
cemetery at the head of Spring street. 

This, however, was not the final resting place of Solomon 
Juneau and his wife. After a period of sixteen years, their 
remains were removed to Calvary cemetery. 

19 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

The monument erected to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. 
Solomon Juneau in Calvary cemetery bears the inscription: 
"In Memory of Solomon Juneau, Founder of Milwaukee, 
Born August 19, 1793, at L'Asumption, Can." On the 
reverse side, "Josette Juneau, Wife of Solomon Juneau, 
Born at Fort Howard, 1803." 

In 1906, members of the Old Settler's Club of Milwau- 
kee, placed marble markers at the head of the graves of Mr. 
and Mrs. Juneau. 



20 






I 



JUNEAU MONUMENT. 



THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

Thirty-one years after Solomon Juneau's death, a noble 
tribute was paid to his memory by two pioneer business men 
of the city which he had founded in the wilderness — Messrs. 
Bradley and Metcalf, who commissioned and paid for the 
Juneau Monument, which they presented to the city of 
Milwaukee. The official account of the ceremonies con- 
nected with its unveiling, written by General Charles King, 
who acted as presiding officer, is here reproduced, as fol- 
lows : 

UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT. 
July 6th, 1887. 

In the old days when the white tower of the light- 
house gleamed from the summit of the bluffs — just where 
now no sign of bluff remains ; when three long black piers 
jutted far out into the waters of the bay — just where now no 
piers are seen at all ; when sloop or shallop, seeking entrance 
to our winding river, sailed through a rift in the sandy 
beach — just where all is solid soil today, while the turbid 
waters go curdling out through a nearer channel as artificial 
as their own color ; in those old days when there was no 
Seventh Ward, the bluffs rose bare and bold, and scarred by 
wave and weather on the bay side, and billowy and rounded 
towards the nestling town. In those days Milwaukee seemed 
huddling behind those natural bulwarks and taking shelter 
from the fierce northeasters that sent the white-capped 
surges tumbling in foam upon the sweeping curve of the 

23 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

beach; while on bright afternoons that antique light-house 
was the Mecca of our people. Here was the chosen prom- 
enade, here the play-ground of our boyhood, and from these 
breezy heights we kept watch for the slow coming of the 
white steamer from Chicago, or, glancing westward and 
commanding the whole length of Wisconsin Street, that had 
not dreamed of boring into our fastness then, we looked 
down into the sloping valley towards the river, and clear 
over the roofs of the homely, old-fashioned, white frame 
houses that were so rapidly springing into being. 

Long since has the light-house doused its glim and 
crumbled away. Long since has the bold bluff at Wisconsin 
street been shoveled into the neighboring squares ; its broad 
and uncomplaining bosom yielding tribute by the cubic yard 
to the rescue of surrounding swamp-land ; but farther north, 
though their crests are shaved away to fill their creases, the 
bluffs still stand to remind all old Milwaukeeans of their 
missing comrades. The little huts; the long meshes of the 
drying nets ; the white-winged fleet of fishing smacks that 
huddled at their feet, are gone. The white combing rollers 
that broke in long concave and hissing foam are curbed by 
the ugly line of wooden break-water, but still there remains 
much of what was once the tall, rounded bluff at the head 
of Biddle street. Near it — to the west — there were level 
fields and green pastures and little frame cottages within 
the first few hundred yards ; and then, bigger white houses 
and one or two of brick — what palaces we boys declared 
them ! — and then the staring walls of the brand new Cathe- 
24 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

dral with its marvel of a clock tower and its jangling bells, 
and the little square belfry of the Court House peeping out 
beyond. The North Point seemed a long distance away ; 
the South Point a day's journey, thanks to the wide detour 
around the Kinnickinnic marsh, and "many a time and oft," 
coming home from the forbidden swim in the Lake, have we 
boys clambered the steep pathway up the Biddle Street bluff, 
and, stopping to rest and gather breath, have stood there at 
the very verge, looking townward across the intervening field 
and far over to the wooded heights beyond the river. 

And there today — on the summit of that very bluff — 
just as though he, too, had climbed from the din of the 
breakers on the beach below and had paused to gather 
breath and take a long look at the fair city, stands on its 
granite pedestal the effigy of him whom Milwaukee honors 
as its first citizen — the pioneer who trod that line of bluff 
when not a roof was raised between him and the westward 
stream. 

Clad in the garb of the frontiersman, with ready rifle 
in his hand, "Old Solomo," the friend of the Indian, the 
trader and trapper and hunter, was known to every man who 
visited Milwaukee in its early days. Later he donned the 
dress of civilization, and white and red man hailed him as 
mayor and magistrate of the struggling town. Year after 
year he watched it growing, thriving, until the site of his 
humble cabin became the heart of a bustling city. New men 
came and new enterprises prospered, but Solomon Juneau 
kept his hold upon the hearts of those whom he was first 

25 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

to welcome here, and, as the city grew, so was spread abroad 
his good name. Milwaukee's father, founder and steadfast 
friend, he lived his honored life among us, simple, tender- 
hearted and true; and in his death there fell a pall upon 
the whole community. 

Long years have sped since he was called to his fathers. 
Here and there in our wide streets and on our archives his 
name appeared. Here and there the genial and benevolent 
features beamed from some gilded frame or illumined a page 
of our history, but not until years had rolled away was there 
placed upon our sod a lasting memorial of the man first 
welcomed of the red sons of the forest, whose lodges were 
thick along these wooded shores. 

It is fitting that 'twere done as it was done. No labored 
municipal appropriation was sought. No appeal to alien 
ear was made. In all its solid worth the bronze that bears 
his mien is the tribute of affection and intimate friendship 
on the part of men who knew him well, of men whose names 
have been linked with that of our city since its very infancy, 
and whose own bonds of association are weighted with the 
records of half a century. The sign-board with their joint 
names and the first announcement of their enterprise stood 
within a stone's throw of the site of his old cabin. They 
were constant visitors at his fireside. To one of them he 
offered the land that became the homestead of the young 
merchant who had so won the old trader's esteem. To him, 
too, sure of sympathy, he came with great tears trickling 
down his weather-beaten face and with sobs choking his 
26 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

utterance, to tell how death had robbed him of the wife 
who had shared his long exile. 

Few men knew of their project until just before the 
blocks of the massive pedestal were hoisted into place. In 
the hands of an eminent sculptor and designer every detail 
of the statute had been completed abroad, and not until all 
preliminaries were settled was Milwaukee aware that within 
a coming week would the effigy of its founder be unveiled. 

Despite the heat of the midsummer sun, no lovelier day 
had dawned on the city for years than that on which the 
ceremonies took place. Far out to sea the waters of the bay 
shone blue as the unclouded sky. The wooded points 
seemed nearer and clearer than ever before, as though 
closing in in sympathy with the purpose of the day. The 
close-cropped greensward, the graded pathways of the park 
and all the neighboring streets and homesteads were 
thronged with an interested gathering of our citizens; while 
the banner-draped platform and the seats upon the green 
were crowded with invited guests to most of whom Solomon 
Juneau had been personally well known. Close at hand, 
under the bluffs, the graceful lines of the revenue cutter, 
gay with bunting, and the idly-flapping sails of many a 
smaller craft were reflected in the placid waters. Not a 
cats-paw seemed to ruffle the fair surface ; not a breath of 
air to stir the foliage of the bordering trees. Far to the 
southward the smoke from the Bay View furnaces rose 
straight to the zenith, and over all the unclouded sun shone 
vividly. 

27 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Prompt at the hour the procession came in sight, thread- 
ing its way through files of carriages down the line of bluff. 
Clauder's ringing, spirited music seemed more jubilant than 
ever, and the escorting troopers of the Light Horse and the 
jaunty infantrymen of the Sheridan Guards marched with 
more than their usual precision. Carriage after carriage dis- 
charged its load at the entrance to the enclosure; the city 
officials, the pioneers and old settlers' clubs joined the 
children and grand-children of Juneau upon the raised plat- 
form ; and then, with the troops aligned at saluting distance 
and the black-mouthed guns of the battery unlimbered at the 
edge of the bluff, the preparations were complete, and all 
eyes were centered on the tall column draped and concealed 
in folds of flag ; the music ceased, and the voice of Col. 
Charles King, Master of Ceremonies, called the assemblage 
to order with these brief words : 

"The object of our meeting here this afternoon calls for 
no extended explanation. Within the past few years Mil- 
waukee has compassed the first half century of her existence, 
and barely two score years have passed away since the sight 
of the first steamboat anchoring off our shores could call 
forth but a meagre dozen of spectators. 

"Foremost in that group of hardy pioneers stood the 
stalwart form of him in whose honor this statue gleams for 
the first time in the sunshine of today. Public spirited and 
loyal citizens have placed it here — a lasting tribute to his 
indomitable energy and perseverance. 

"And now, in this presence — central figure in this un- 
28 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

rivaled picture of earth and sea and sky, unveiled by the 
fair hands of his own grandchild, the effigy of "Old Solomo" 
shall look forth upon the scene of civilization and success 
that has sprung up about the site of the humble cabin he 
built so many years ago on the banks of 'Mahnawauk Seepe'. 
"It is fitting that at such a time we invoke the blessing 
of the Almighty upon our enterprise, and we gladly give 
ear to one who from the earliest days of the infant city has 
been prominent in our midst — our pastor and our friend. I 
present to you the Reverend Doctor Keene." 

Invocation. 

O, Almighty Father, God of Heaven and Earth, in the 
order of whose providence, nations and cities are founded 
for the habitation and government of men, we acknowledge 
thy goodness in the gift of this fair city, which, under thy 
merciful leading and guidance, is a pride and joy to the 
people who inhabit it. Gratefully we acknowledge thy 
merciful goodness to us, and while this day we assemble to 
do honor to man, we would not be unmindful of thee, our 
God. And thou who didst call the patriarchs to be chosen 
founders, instructors and representatives of a people and 
cities to be called after thy Name; we this day acknowledge 
thy goodness and mercy in the choice of thy servant, the 
founder of this city — a devout worshipper of thy Holy 
Name, an example of integrity and honor ; of unselfish gen- 
erosity, and of gentle bearing and character ; the trusted 
and respected friend of the Indian and pioneer settler. 

May the inhabitants of this city always cherish and 
emulate his virtues, and ever bear the character of God- 
fearing, righteous people. Bless the donors of the statue 
about to be unveiled. Preserve their generous gift from 

29 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

harm and injury, to perpetuate in accordance with their de- 
sign the historical name of our earliest citizen, and the 
memory of a good and gracious man. 

And we implore thy blessing on all in authority, that 
they may have grace, wisdom and understanding, so to 
discharge their duties as most effectually to promote thy 
glory, the interest of true religion and virtue, and the peace, 
good order and welfare of this State and City. Continue, 
O, Lord, to prosper our institutions for the promotion of 
sound learning, the diffusion of virtuous education, the ad- 
vancement of Christian truth and the purity and prosperity 
of thy Universal Church. Bless all who labor in works of 
mercy. Care for all aged persons, and all little children, 
the sick and the afflicted. 

Remember all who by reason of weakness are overcome, 
or by reason of poverty are forgotten, and save us from the 
guilt of abusing the blessings of prosperity, to luxury and 
licentiousness, to irreligion and vice, lest we provoke Thee 
in just judgment. Give ear unto our prayers, O merciful 
and gracious Father, for the love of thy dear Son, our 
Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive 
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against 
us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil ; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
for ever and ever, Amen. 

At the close of the eloquent prayer, escorted by Mr. 
Richard H. Park, the designer and modeler of the statue, 
Miss Hattie White, granddaughter of Juneau, stepped for- 
ward and took her position at the pedestal. The cords were 
placed in her hands, and then, with a burst of melody from 
the band and the thundering salute of the guns, the pre- 

30 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

sented arms of the line of troops and the cheers of the 
assembled throng, there flashed into view as the folds fell 
away the glistening presentment of our pioneer citizen. 

Heroic in size, easy and restful in pose, and in the 
frontier dress of fifty years ago, the figure is strong and 
marked in its resemblance, and in their placid benignity 
and kindliness the features are especially true to life. 
Among the Old Settlers' Club there were many who half 
arose and scanned the shining bronze with eager interest and 
eyes that quickly moistened. The applause was renewed 
again and again until the thunder of the guns had ceased, 
and then earnest attention was given to the 

Oration of Hon. E. D. Holton, at the Unveiling of 

the Juneau Monument, Milwaukee, Wis., 

July 6, 1887. 

Fellow Citizens, Mr. Mayor, and Gentlemen of the 
Common Council : Individuals, all along the pathway of 
man, have stepped forward and directly or indirectly builded 
cities. We are told in the sacred scriptures that Adam's 
oldest son went forth and builded a city. David, the 
stripling king, and sweet singer of Israel, had much to do 
with the building of that city, standing among the Judean 
hills, which was beautiful for situation. Constantine, the 
Great, when he came to stand upon the banks of the 
Bosphorus, and contrasted it with the narrow, muddy waters 
of the Tiber, said : "The seat of the Roman Empire shall 
be changed ; and here on the shore of this great waterway 
shall it stand ;" and the magnificent city of Constantinople 
arose at his behest. The capital of Peter the Great was out 
upon the desolate steppes of Russia, far from the ocean 
wave, and he said, "That will not do for the great Muscovite 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

capital." And forthwith he ordered the city of St. Peters- 
burg to arise upon the swampy borders of the River Neva, 
as it enters the gulf of Finland. There it stands today, a 
mighty monument to the memory of a mighty man. 

He whose memory we come to embalm in bronze today, 
may not have borne so conspicuous a part as these eminent 
ones, but among us, he must have a name ; among us he must 
have a history as bright as these ; though less in degree, for 
he, too, was the builder of a city, a city as beautiful as either 
of those which have been mentioned ; a city, considering the 
brevity of its existence, as large as was either of those im- 
perial cities at a time when they were not older. We cannot 
enter upon a consideration of early historical sketches inci- 
dent to our region of country without, in one form or 
another, being confronted at the threshold with the con- 
spicuous parts enacted by the French Jesuit missionaries and 
the American Fur Company; the one the pioneer of religion, 
the other the pioneer of commerce. The presence of Solo- 
mon Juneau at the mouth of the Milwaukee, or, as the In- 
dians called it, Mahnawaukee river, on the 14th of Septem- 
ber, 1818, was the outcome of these two forces or factors. 
Romance, poetry, and even history, probably, have yet 
exhaustive fields in these two great continental epochs. 
These two forces were largely the forerunners of the civili- 
zation that has spanned the continent, and as a consequence, 
we think nothing today, of making the journey from the 
mouth of the St. Lawrence river to the heads of Lakes 
Michigan and Superior. But what was that journey of 
2,000 miles when Marquette made it two hundred years ago, 
or, even three score and ten years ago, at the time Solomon 
Juneau made it? They each performed it by the same con- 
veyance ; perhaps the same boat song was sung by each, as 
they plied their oars along that vast waterway. They each 
forced their boats over the same rapids or carried them by 
land. We have spoken of the Bosphorus upon which the 
Emperor Constantine placed his city ; it is not grander than 

32 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

the waterway upon which our founder builded his city. 
We have spoken of the Neva, upon which Peter the Great 
placed his imperial city ; it does not compare with the site of 
Milwaukee. 

White men had visited Milwaukee before Mr. Juneau 
came, before the advent of him whom we honor as our 
founder. 

Solomon Juneau was born on the 9th day of August, 
1793, at a small village near Montreal. His parents were 
Alsatian French of pure blood. He was christened Laurent 
Solomon, but he dropped his first name after he came here 
to reside. He received, probably in his parish church, some 
education, so that he was able to offer his services as a 
clerk. The stories of a hundred years ago, of the great 
lakes and the rivers leading to, and connecting them ; the 
stories of the vast transactions of the fur companies ; the 
thousands of romances of the many trappers and traders 
connected with these then great and absorbing commercial 
transactions, pervaded every household all along the St. 
Lawrence Valley, and constituted the very romance of that 
French life. Into this romance and the desire to participate 
in it entered young Juneau, and under its inspiration he 
reached Mackinac in September, 1816, at the age of 23 
years. 

At that time he must have been a man of great personal 
beauty. What a grand companion he must have been on 
that long journey from Montreal to Mackinac ! With the 
oars he was the equal of any ; in the storm and dangers of 
the journey he had no blanched cheek; courage of the 
highest order was his. I think I hear his voice high above 
all others as he joins with his brother boatmen, amid the 
winds and rolling waves : 

Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast. 
The rapids are near and the daylight's past. 

At Mackinac he made the acquaintance of Jacque 

33 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Vieaux, Sr. This gentleman was a Frenchman, a man of 
large acquaintance with the Indian tribes, with whom he had 
extensive dealings, and over whom he exercised great in- 
fluence. His headquarters were at Green Bay and he also 
had a store here at Milwaukee. In this gentleman's employ 
Mr. Juneau entered as a clerk soon after his arrival at 
Mackinac in 1816, and continued in his employ until 18 18, 
when he came to Milwaukee. He continued as Mr. Vieaux's 
head clerk through the years 1818 and 1819, during which 
time he married Josette, the daughter of his employer. She 
bore Mr. Juneau seventeen children. 

At the time I first saw Mrs. Juneau, she was about 35 
years of age, a well-formed, good-sized, matronly, fine 
looking and well-deported woman. She was what was called 
a half breed, her mother being from the Menomonee tribe 
of Indians. At the time I speak of as first knowing Mrs. 
Juneau, she dressed partly in Indian fashion. She mingled 
but little with the incoming white population. She was 
noted for her benevolence and kindness to the poor, giving 
largely of her care to the throng of Indians, who were con- 
tinually in the neighborhood of her dwelling, till as late as 
1845, an d perhaps even later. A true and faithful wife, a 
true and noble mother, a charitable and kindly neighbor was 
Mrs. Juneau. Let her memory also be ever cherished by the 
people of the city which honors her husband as its chief 
founder. 

And now we come to speak of the life of Mr. Juneau 
when he entered upon a business career of his own, during 
the year 1820. He was made the agent of the American 
Fur Company here at Milwaukee. At this time Wisconsin 
was known only as a part of the Northwest Territory ceded 
by the state of Virginia to the Federal government. No 
civil government extended over it other than that relating 
to the government of the Northwest Territory by Congress. 
The Menomonees, Pottawattomies, Winnebagoes, Sacs and 
Foxes occupied what is now the state of Wisconsin. A few 

34 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

white men were at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, chiefly 
French and half-breeds. Other than these two settlements, 
this state, now so abounding in towns, cities, roads, bridges, 
schools, colleges and all the insignia of highest civilization, 
was indeed a howling wilderness. But no, it was not a 
wilderness. It was full of people, but of an other com- 
plexion than ours. It was the industry of the chase ; it was 
the skill and deep sagacity of the hunter. His treasures 
were found in the precious furs of the beaver, the martin, 
the fox, the mink, the fox, and other fur-bearing animals; 
in the hides of the deer, the wolf and the bear. Who for 
twenty-five years was head man, was chief, was almost 
imperial guide over this widely-scattered population ? 'Twas 
he whose memory we come today to commemorate. Con- 
stantine was emperor over the Roman people and they went 
and came upon his order. Peter the Great was the father, 
the Czar, of the Muscovite people, and they came and went 
at his command. 

Scarcely less imperial was Mr. Juneau's influence over 
the widely scattered Indian settlements of Wisconsin. So 
noble was he in his bearing, so just was he in his dealings, 
so true was he to the interests of these Indian tribes, that 
they reverenced him and accepted his advice and counsel 
as if he was indeed their chief ruler. When he called for the 
gathering of the tribes, they came. Long lines of horses 
laden with precious peltries, could be seen streaming along 
the Indian trails leading to Milwaukee, and, when they 
arrived, whole cities of Indian wigwams would be seen 
planted upon our beautiful highlands surrounding Milwau- 
kee. Did you think trade was never carried on here until 
these massive blocks of stores were built that now adorn 
our city, and which attract the masses of people seen in our 
streets? You are mistaken. During the period of which I 
speak, and of these gatherings, very extensive mercantile 
transactions were carried on. Large stocks of goods had 
been accumulated, brought chiefly from Montreal and 

35 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Quebec, to be exchanged for the productions of the Indian. 
Who was the great merchant ? To whom did this patient and 
hard working people bring the fruit of their labors, and 
cast at his feet, saying, "Take these and count their value 
and give us of what we need in exchange !" Few are the men 
after all, that have so commanded the confidence of their 
fellows as to be entirely trusted as did these children of the 
forest trust their beloved "Solomo." 

This trade went on for many days followed by games 
and festivities. Did you think that athletic sports like our 
baseball performances, which command so much the atten- 
tion of the public press of the present time, are but just now 
played. You are much mistaken. Mr. and Mrs. Juneau, 
with their children and family friends, the chiefs of the 
Indian tribes, have gone out upon the bluffs and the end of 
Wisconsin street and are looking down on the game of 
lacrosse performed on the green sward where now stretches 
Michigan and Huron streets, and are witnessing exhibitions 
of agility, strength and skill, of which our baseball games 
are but baby playing. And do you think that horse-racing 
is but now first inaugurated in Milwaukee? In this, too, you 
are equally mistaken. Look out upon that smooth, beautiful 
plain which now constitutes our Third Ward. There are 
a hundred horses in the ring. They are as beautiful and 
sleek as any you ever saw. They are all ridden by their 
owners, whose skill and agility are scarcely less attractive 
than the swiftness of the horse. There are Dexters, Mauds 
and J. I. C.'s in the ring, and as the victors come in the 
acclaim comes from throats that could make twice the noise 
that can the consumptive voices of our present baseball and 
horse-racing crowds. As for athletes, why there are among 
those young braves, runners that can outstrip the swiftest 
horse in a race of a hundred miles ! 

But now the trading is done, the payments are made, the 
races are over, the games, the fetes and the revelries are 
closed. Solomon has said that he must now give attention 

36 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

to the very important business of the great fur company, 
and his brethren must depart for their homes. 

The wigwams are struck, the pack horses are loaded with 
them, and the vast amount of goods of one sort and another 
— blankets, powder, shot, tomahawks, tobacco, and in those 
days more or less fire-water, and the long cavalcade takes 
its departure, as it came, for their abode in the wilderness, 
as we say, but not as they said, but to the loved hunting- 
grounds — homes ever dear to them — breathing their bene- 
dictions upon Solomo, their friend, their trusted brother, 
their true adviser, their peace-maker, their protector, their 
beloved Solomo. 

At Mahnawaukee now all is comparatively quiet and 
peaceful. The sober and important business now commands 
attention. This vast collection of peltries, filling great store 
places, is to be prepared for shipment. Whither is it going, 
and how ? The great burden bearing Mackinac boat is at 
its moorings ready to receive its cargo and enter upon its 
long journey through Lake Michigan and the Straits of 
Mackinac, by Huron, by the River St. Clair, the Detroit 
River, by Lake Erie, by Niagara's roaring waters, by On- 
tario, by the rushing waters of St. Lawrence to Montreal, 
where its cargo will be reshipped to London and China. 
Who is the conspicuous figure that summoned the tribes 
which brought these precious commodities, and who has 
determined their qualities and value and paid for the same, 
so that they have departed not only without a murmur, but 
with benediction on his head? And who now is preparing 
with consummate skill these precious goods so that they 
will go in safety from a thousand dangers to their far-off 
destination ? Who now prepares the invoices for the owners 
and bills of lading for the consignees so that the great busi- 
ness goes on without confusion or friction? And who now, 
in the midst of all the seeming confusion and disorder, 
brings order and system to all interests, so that in the end 
and at the conclusion of all, it is found that the scale of 

37 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

accuracy and justice has been held with even hand, and 
those great merchants, the Astors and the Ramsey Crooks, 
said clear on to the end, "Well done, good and faithful 
servant." Who, I ask, has borne this conspicuous part? 

From 1820 to 1838, nearly a score of years of this kingly 
ruling passes in the history of Mr. Juneau, and, lo ! a tide 
rolling like the ocean strikes the western shore of Lake 
Michigan. It is the first army corps of emigrants from the 
Eastern States and from Europe. The Federal government 
now steps into the arena and asks the aboriginal inhabitants, 
those true owners of the soil, to exchange lands, and go for 
their hunting grounds beyond the Mississippi. Mourning is 
in all the wigwams. Here are true men as ever lived, devout 
worshippers of the Great Spirit, seeking to the best of their 
ability to conform to His laws. As this message of their 
"Great Father" at Washington reaches them, they are 
saddened and sit speechless in their wigwams, and under the 
shadows of their beautiful forests, or upon the banks of 
their lakes and rivers. They are dumb, and can only appeal 
their case to the Great Spirit. The chiefs are loaded with 
gaudy red blankets and bedizened with trinkets and mock 
jewelry. Fire-water is not unknown. The treaties are made 
and the tribes must depart. Ah ! as they go, slow and irreso- 
lute is their step ; and well it may be, for sorrow and sadness 
is in their hearts as they pass from the land of their fathers, 
never to return. 

The scene changes. Behold the army of occupation is 
here. The bugle blast of resolution and high purpose is 
heard. "We are house-builders," they cry ; we are school 
and church builders ; we are road-makers ; we are bridge- 
builders; we are plowmen; we are hewers of stone and 
moulders of brick and of iron, and workers in wood. Our 
knowledge of manufactures reaches every department of 
human want and human skill ; we are printers and students 
of books ; we make and publish printed laws, observe their 

"38 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

mandates ourselves, and exact the same obedience from all 
who come." 

They enter in. Hear you now the sound of the hammer, 
the saw and the anvil. Look here, look there, on every 
hand human habitations and homes of comfort arise. 
Woman under Christian culture is here. Mark her beauty 
and sweetness as she stands in the door of her house and 
bids you welcome to that fresh home adorned by her handi- 
craft! The forests are cleft. The mighty oaks, the beeches, 
the elms, the ash, the walnut and the maple go down before 
the axman's stroke. Highways are cast up and the blessed 
land yields its abundance to the husbandman's skillful touch. 
But what of Mr. Juneau in this presence? Can he now face 
civilization and bear himself as when he was dealing only 
with the aboriginal inhabitants of this country, with whom 
he had so long lived almost as one of their own number? 
Yes, equally well. He was now the same elegant gentleman, 
manly, handsome, polite, always self-possessed, and, in these 
particulars, was the inferior of none of all this throng of the 
best types of the population of the Eastern States. Mr. 
Juneau, under the federal laws, had acquired one hundred 
and sixty acres of land on the east side of the river, where 
is now the very richest part of our city. As a city builder, 
upon the advent of these new comers, he called to his aid 
Benjamin H. Edgerton and Joshua Hathaway, able civil 
engineers, and at once platted this wide extent of land. He 
was baronial, indeed, in the possession of these thousands of 
city lots. Generous, liberal to a fault, he rapidly disposed 
of these lots ; some for money, some on credit, some in ex- 
change for goods and personal property of all kinds and 
descriptions, and not a few by gift. He had use for a great 
amount of merchandise, for there was never a time when 
there were not many Indians and half-breeds hanging about 
his house and grounds. 

His memory was most remarkable. I think I am not 
mistaken in saying that he never made a mistake or was at 

39 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

a loss to know whether or not he had parted with this or that 
lot without reference to books. 

Neither can I recall that in a single instance he ever had 
difficulty in any of these many transactions. At an early 
day, as I am informed, a verbal trade between him and the 
Hon. Morgan L. Martin was made for the half interest in 
a body of land for $600. No conveyance was made at the 
time. The value of the land increased to a large sum. Mr. 
Martin called Mr. Juneau's attention to the verbal trade. It 
was at once ratified — though the difference was thousands 
of dollars. His word was proverbially as good as his bond. 
In all of the affairs of the city he was an honored and 
useful citizen. He was its first postmaster and its first 
mayor. In the discharge of these public trusts he was always 
modest and deferential to the educated men with whom he 
came in contact. He built the first vessel. He built the 
court house (the old one) and with the square in front gave 
it to the county. He built the Milwaukee House, a large, 
spacious three-storied hotel, located near where the postoffice 
now stands.* He was a devout Catholic, and gave liberally 
to the cause of religion. At one time he was possessed of 
large wealth, but the characteristics of which I have spoken 
did not conduce to its retention, and he died a poor man. 

He had gone to attend an Indian payment at Shawano 
in the northern part of the state. His duties were severe — 
the weather was inclement — he was there overtaken with 
illness and died on the 14th of November, 1856. 

He sleeps in the Catholic cemetery, fronting Grand 
Avenue, west of the city. 

Is he worthy of this gathering? Is he worthy of this 
monument ? Behold him ! 

Mr. Mayor and gentlemen of the Common Council, 
Charles T. Bradley and William H. Metcalf, two of the 
oldest residents and most respected citizens of this com- 



*The present site of the Wells building, corner of Milwaukee 
and Wisconsin streets. 

40 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

munity, at whose request I have made this humble effort in 
memory of the founder of our city, bid me tender this monu- 
ment, alike so honorable to them, and the distinguished 
artist who has constructed it in the far distant city of 
Florence, as a free gift to the city of Milwaukee, and to 
beg at your hands its acceptance and future custody. 

To which oration and in behalf of the city of Milwaukee, 
there followed the 

Address of Acceptance By Hon. Emil Wallber. 

Honored Sir : — 

With profound gratitude I accept this beautiful monu- 
ment on behalf of the city of Milwaukee. 

It is a happy incident, indeed, that the next statue 
presented to us after that of the Father of our Country, is 
the statue of the Father of our City. 

Placed on public ground that bears his name, in sight of 
one of our great inland lakes, in full view of the spot which 
once was his home, this monument, erected to the memory 
of Solomon Juneau, leads our thoughts back to the days 
when Milwaukee was but an Indian village. 

What a change since then ! From a mere trading-post 
Milwaukee, now the metropolis of our state, has in a short 
space of time grown to be a city of over 185,000 inhabitants. 
Its area comprises about seventeen square miles. Its 
assessed valuation is nearly $90,000,000. Over four hundred 
teachers are employed in our public schools, imparting in- 
struction to 19,000 pupils. Our large and extensive manu- 
facturies, representing nearly every industry, have made us 
famous. Its press is honored and respected throughout the 
land. The log cabin of the days of Juneau has given way 
to spacious homes, surrounded by all the comforts of life, 
and now to all the beauties and attractions of our city is 
added the monument just unveiled, and I but voice the senti- 
ment of our people when I say, that the work is beautiful 

4i 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

as a product of art, honorable to the donors, and creditable 
to the artist. 

On behalf of the inhabitants of this city, I beg you, sir, 
to convey their cordial thanks to the donors for this gen- 
erous gift, and to assure them that their kindness and 
generosity will not be forgotten. 

I sincerely hope that their munificent example will be 
emulated by other of our public-spirited citizens, confident 
that their liberality will ever be appreciated. 



In the absence of Governor Rusk the following letter 
was read by his designated staff officer : 

July 4th, 1887. 

My Dear Colonel : Your second letter, asking me to be 
present at the unveiling of the statute of Solomon Juneau, 
is received. I had confidently hoped to have the pleasure 
of witnessing the interesting ceremonies attending that event, 
but circumstances are such that I cannot avail myself of the 
privilege. 

Milwaukee is to be congratulated upon having among 
her citizens public spirited gentlemen, who honor themselves 
and their city by thus doing honor to the memory of her first 
settler, and the first mayor of the chief city of our state. 

The hardy pioneer, who was the advance guard of civili- 
zation and enlightenment, and the founder of a great city, 
deserved to have his name perpetuated, and it is a matter 
for congratulation that it has been so substantially done. 

Please extend to Messrs. Bradley and Metcalf my thanks 
for their kind invitation and sincere regrets that I am 
unable to accept it. 

Yours very truly, 

J. M. RUSK. 

Col. Chas. King. 

42 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

Speech on Behalf of Pioneer Association By Hon. 
John P. McGregor. 

Fellow Citizens : Though the honor of being one of 
the earliest settlers in Milwaukee is not mine, it has yet 
fallen to my lot to speak briefly, on this occasion, in behalf 
of the Milwaukee County Pioneer Association. These 
pioneers, to-day, have much of which to be proud, and many 
things for which to be thankful. In the ordinary course of 
events, it might readily have happened that the wandering, 
adventurous Indian trader found in the occupation of this 
point, when the advance guard of regular civilized settlers 
arrived, should have been one of whose character and con- 
duct we could not well be proud, and who would not have 
been a suitable choice for first mayor of our city. It hap- 
pened otherwise, and the little band was welcomed here by 
Solomon Juneau, to assist in honoring whose memory we 
have met today. It is true that Mr. Juneau was not the 
typical American "settler." He did not come here to make 
a farm, or to build a city ; but to trade with the uncivilized 
red men, then in full possession of this whole Northwestern 
region. We must, however, remember that merchants and 
traders have always been important agencies in the spread 
of civilization throughout the world. Mr. Juneau became 
at once identified in interest with the new colony. The early 
pioneers yet bear witness to his many virtues, to his hospital- 
ity, to his largeness and warmth of heart, to his ready 
sympathy and help, to his manliness of character, and to his 
full possession of the qualities which make a man a good 
neighbor, a good friend and a good citizen. We know that 
so long as he lived he held the respect and esteem of his 
civilized associates, as well as the intense love and veneration 
of the remnants of the savage tribes, among whom much 
of his life was spent, and who followed his body to the 
grave with demonstrations of the deepest grief. The mem- 
bers of our Association desire to express their gratitude to 

43 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

the eminent firm of pioneer merchants, who honor them- 
selves, who honor us, and do honor to our city by the erec- 
tion of this grand monument to Solomon Juneau, whereon 
are faithfully reproduced the fine physical proportions and 
the commanding presence of the man, which none who knew 
him can ever forget. It is most appropriate that this statue 
of the first Milwaukee pioneer should be given to adorn our 
city by the oldest mercantile and manufacturing house now 
existing unchanged in Milwaukee, or perhaps anywhere in 
the Northwest ; whose business and whose reputation reach 
from the Lakes to the Pacific, and which has long been a 
most favorable type of our commercial character and insti- 
tutions. We thank these gentlemen at once for the gift and 
for the example. Milwaukee has been a most fortunate city. 
Early settlers who took part in clearing away the woods 
and in laying the first foundation have lived to see arise, 
first a thriving village, then a prosperous town, and then a 
large and beautiful city. They have witnessed the struggle 
for a bare existence, then moderate and well-to-do prosper- 
ity, and finally the accumulation of large wealth. And now, 
those who came, young men, with small means, to an en- 
tirely new settlement, and have here prospered and grown 
rich, are devoting their wealth to improve and adorn and 
beautify our city with fine buildings for commercial and 
public purposes, with grand churches and schools, with 
museums of science and schools of art, with noble art 
galleries and libraries, with paintings and statuary ; so that 
Milwaukee bids fair to become an influential center of 
education, refinement and culture. The work of the pio- 
neers in this respect, as in all other affairs of this world, is 
nearly done. A very few years must end it, but they are 
thankful to have lived to see the dawn of this new era in 
the development of our city, and they have a confident faith 
that the coming generations shall carry this development to 
glorious results. We have lived in a time of unexampled 
progress, not only in our own country, but throughout the 

44 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

civilized world. The history of civilization tells of no such 
gigantic advances in any other century, nor has any other 
age given such bright promise for the future welfare of 
mankind on earth. We are proud, then, of our city of Mil- 
waukee. We are proud of the grand and beautiful state of 
Wisconsin of which it is a part — a land of fair broad fields, 
of bright waters and green forests, a healthful and a happy 
country, fitted to sustain a healthy and vigorous race of men. 
We have reason to be proud and thankful that we have 
lived to see our united republic gradually stretch across the 
broad continent from one sea to the other, and become con- 
solidated in our time by increased modern means of inter- 
communication, and by the rude shocks and throes of civil 
war, into one nation, one great people with the same hopes 
and aspirations ; with abundant power to repel all assaults 
of enemies from without and with abundant strength and 
wisdom to deal promptly, efficiently and mercifully with all 
fanatics, misleading or misled, who under any pretense 
whatever, may undertake to raise rebellion, or establish 
anarchy anywhere within its wide domains. Our hope and 
prayer is that this great country may be the undivided heri- 
tage of our children forever. 

At the close of Mr. McGregor's address, which was in- 
terrupted by frequent applause, all the audience present, 
led by the band, joined in singing: 

AMERICA. 

My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, — 
Of thee I sing; 

Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrim's pride, 
From ev'ry mountain side 
Let freedom ring. 

45 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

My native country, thee, — 
Land of the noble free, — 
Thy name I love; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills 
Like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees 
Sweet freedom's song! 
Let mortal tongues awake; 
Let all that breathe partake; 
Let rocks their silence break,- 
The sound prolong! 

Our fathers' God, to Thee, 

Author of liberty, — 

To thee we sing! 

Long may our land be bright 

With freedom's holy light; 

Protect us by Thy might, 

Great God, our King. 



46 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 

Once again the guns belched forth their resonant salute 
and when quiet was restored, the voice of the revered Dr. 
Keene was again heard in the final 

Benediction. 

"The peace of God which passeth all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of 
God and of His son Jesus Christ ; and the blessing of God 
Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost be 
amongst you and remain with you always." Amen. 

And so closed the ceremonies which transferred to the 
keeping of the City of Milwaukee the statue of its founder 
and first civil magistrate. It is a tribute at once to the 
benevolence and worth of a faithful friend and honored 
man, and to the fair city which cherishes his memory, and 
it may be permitted to him whose pleasure it has been to 
compile this little memoir, to add that in its beauty and in- 
trinsic value, as well as in the inspiration which gave it 
being, the statue of Solomon Juneau is fitting souvenir of 
the character of its donors, whose years of residence in our 
midst have been crowned with the honors of universal 
esteem and whose fifty years of mutual association have no 
parallel in the history of the great Northwest. 

List of Juneau's children, grandchildren and great-grand- 
children, who witnessed the unveiling from the platform : 

Frank D. Juneau, Miss Fanny Fox 

Mrs. Harriet Juneau Fox, George Walther, 
Mrs. Mary Juneau Husting, Miss Sarah White, 

47 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Raymond Juneau, Miss Hattie White, 

Frank A. Juneau, Mrs. Minnie Cosgrave, 

Mrs. Marion Juneau King, Mrs. Josie Reynolds, 
Mrs. Bertha Juneau Dousman, Miss Florence Cosgrave, 

Miss Stoughton Juneau, Otto Husting, 

Miss Pauline Juneau, Berthold Husting, 

Miss Olive McGee, Henry King. 
Miss Bella Fox, 

The site chosen for the statue is probably the finest in 
the city. Standing upon the bluff, a hundred feet above the 
lake, it is visible far from land, and is so placed that viewed 
from almost any direction its bold outlines are projected 
against the sky, while from the pedestal there is an unbroken 
view of Juneau Park from its extreme limit to the depot at 
its southern end, and as extensive a vista of shore and ter- 
race to the north. 

The monument stands on a solid foundation of stone 
sunk into the earth several feet below the frost line, and 
fitted to last for ages. The pedestal, classic in its order of 
architecture, is of red granite from the state of Maine. It 
is twelve feet square at the base, and eighteen feet, six 
inches in height. 

Upon the face of the second die and about eight feet 
from the ground, in bold, raised and polished, letters, is the 



48 



UNVEILING OF THE JUNEAU MONUMENT 
SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

On the opposite side facing the lake, and cut into the 
polished surface of the granite, is the dedicatory inscrip- 
tion: 

The Gift 

of 

CHARLES T. BRADLEY 

AND 

WILLIAM H. METCALF 

TO THE 

CITY OF MILWAUKEE. 
1887. 

Upon the two remaining faces of the same die are two 
bronze bas-reliefs representing episodes in the life of 
Juneau. 

The one upon the north side shows him standing upon 
the bank of the Milwaukee River. A group of Indians of 
both sexes surround him, some offering peltries, others 
engaged in the varied occupations of an Indian camp. The 
one upon the south side is an illustration of the inauguration 
of Juneau as mayor of the young city in 1846. Surrounded 
by prominent citizens, among whom there is seated at least 
one of the donors of the statue, the honored official is 
receiving an address of congratulation. 

The statue itself is of heroic size — thirteen feet six 
inches in height, and is most pleasing in its effect. The 

49 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

features are calm, dignified and full of the benignity which 
was so marked a characteristic of the man. The figure is 
muscular and athletic, clad in the French Canadian costume 
that has been pronounced historically correct in every par- 
ticular. The entire work is from the designs of Richard H. 
Park, of Florence, Italy, where, in the Royal Foundry and 
under his supervision, the bronzes were cast. 

The pedestal, hewn from the quarries of Maine, was 
erected by and after the designs of the New England Mon- 
ument Company, of New York City. 

SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

Born, _-_._- ^o^ 

Arrived at Milwaukee, - 1818 

First postmaster of Milwaukee, - - 1835 

First president of the village of Milwaukee, 1837 

First mayor of city of Milwaukee, - - 1846 

Died, aged 64, at Shawano, Nov. 14, - 1856 
Buried in Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee. 



50 




MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU, 

In Her 51st Year. 

(From a Painting by Geo. P. A. Healy.) 



MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

Josette Vieaux was born at Fort Howard, Brown County, 
Wis., April 16, 1803. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Jacque Vieaux and was the granddaughter of an Indian 
chief, Ah-ka-ne-po-way. Her girlhood was spent amidst the 
primitive surroundings of the frontier. She was taught to 
read in French. Reared a Catholic, she began at an early 
age to do mission work among the Indians, which work she 
continued for many years after her marriage. She was of 
medium height ; her black hair and eyes, clear olive com- 
plexion, low sweet voice and courteous manner, gave evi- 
dence of her French and Indian origin. 

In 1820, at the age of 17 years, Miss Vieaux was married 
at the old mission church in Green Bay to Solomon Laurent 
Juneau. Their wedding journey from Green Bay to Mil- 
waukee was made in a bark canoe, paddled by Indians. She 
received from her parents the customary wedding presents 
of those pioneer times, consisting of featherbeds, pillows, 
quilts, blankets, etc. Although young in years at the time 
of her marriage, she was an adept in the art of house- 
keeping. 

The country at the time Mr. Juneau brought his young 
bride to Milwaukee was destitute of roads ; nothing but the 
Indian trail traversed the wide expanse of prairie and forest 
between Milwaukee and Green Bay, and travel was made on 
foot or on horseback. There was little to break the monot- 



'Foot Note — Josette is the Indian as well as French for Josephine. 

53 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

ony during the first few years aside from an occasional 
vessel bringing goods and taking away furs, or the Indian 
traders passing through that section from Green Bay to 
Chicago. 

Mrs. Juneau exercised great influence over the Indians 
and was of much assistance to her husband in carrying on 
his business in the fur trade with the Indians, speaking 
several Indian dialects. She dressed in Indian costume, 
which style of dress she wore for many years. Of a retiring 
nature, she mingled little with the incoming white population 
and rarely spoke English, French being the language used 
in the home circle. 

Jas. S. Buck in his Pioneer History of Milwaukee, pays 
the following tribute to Mrs. Juneau : 

"She was among women what her husband was among 
men, one of the noblest works of God. Honest and true, a 
fitting wife for the noble-hearted man with whom she lived 
so long. 

"Many of the first settlers were indebted to this brave- 
hearted woman for their personal safety, more than once, 
in 1836, when the Indians were anxious to destroy them, 
which they certainly would have done upon one occasion, 
had she not interferred to protect them, upon which occasion 
she stood guard over the whites all the night long during her 
husband's absence." 

Mrs. Juneau possessed many noble traits of character. 
Aside from her many duties to her family, she was ever 
ready to minister to the wants of the sick and needy. The 
poor she had always with her. 

54 





BIRTHPLACE OF MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

Erected in 1776 by Joseph LeRoi, at Fort Howard. The House is 

Now Known as the Porlier-Tank Cottage, Union Park, 

Green Bay, Wis. 




OLD STONE FIREPLACE IN THE LE ROI HOUSE. 



MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Her home was a stopping place for ministers of all 
denominations who passed through the trading post. She 
made them all welcome. 

She might be called the guardian angel of the un- 
fortunate. Many a poor girl who had started life wrong was 
taken into her home, given religious instruction, taught to do 
housework and sew, and positions secured for them. 

As years passed, and the tide of immigration continued 
to flow into the infant metropolis, the inhabitants numbering 
thousands, where a few short years before the country was 
but a wilderness, Mrs. Juneau longed for the quiet of the 
country, and persuaded her husband to remove to their 
summer home at Theresa. There, surrounded by every com- 
fort a loving and indulgent husband could provide, she 
settled down to enjoy the declining years of her life. 

After removing to Theresa, she became ill and gradually 
failed. Mr. Juneau took her to Milwaukee to consult their 
family physician. Dr. E. B. Wolcott. It was found her 
malady was of a more serious nature than was at first sup- 
posed. Dr. Wolcott, assisted by Dr. Hewitt and a specialist 
from Chicago, held a consultation and it was found neces- 
sary to perform an operation, which proved unsuccessful, 
At the time of her death, Mrs. Juneau was 52 years, 7 
months and 3 days. Thus closed in perfect peace, a life of 
love and service to God, November 19, 1855. 

The funeral was held from the residence of her daughter, 
Mrs. H. K. White. Services were conducted by the Rev. 
Father Riordan at St. John's Cathedral, of which church 

57 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

she was a devout member during her residence in Milwau- 
kee. Burial was in the Catholic cemetery at the head of 
Spring street. 

There has always been doubt in the minds of the 
descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau, as to just 
what tribe of Indians Mrs. Juneau belonged to. 

The following taken from the enrollment list on the 
Menomonee reservation, Keshena, near Shawano, Wis., will 
prove conclusively that Mrs. Juneau was of the Menomonee 
tribe of Indians. 

In 1849, when the mixed bloods were given money by 
the U. S. Government, Solomon Juneau drew money for 
his wife and family. Following are those for whom he 
drew money : 

Solomon Juneau, for wife, Josette; 

Narcisse, son of Josette ; 

Paul, son of Josette ; 

Theresa, daughter of Josette ; 

Harriet, daughter of Josette ; 

Francis, son of Josette ; 

Charlotte, daughter of Josette; 

Minor children of Josette — 3 boys and 3 girls ; 

Madeline, wife of Narcisse and three children ; 

Anna Josette Juneau, daughter of Paul ; 

Solomon Juneau White, son of Theresa. 

"The Menomonees were a tribe of Indians first described 
near the Menomonee river in Wisconsin, which empties into 
Green Bay. — The name, both of the river and tribe, is 

58 




♦THE TRUE IMAGE OF THE HOLY FACE OF OUR LORD JESUS 
CHRIST, WHICH IS PRESERVED AND IS VENERATED 
IN ROME IN THE HOLY BASCILICA OF THE 
VATICAN OF ST. PETER." 



MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU 

synonymous with wild rice, which was found in great 
abundance near the mouth of the river, and was an im- 
portant part of their food. Fathers Allouez and Andre 
established a mission among them in 1670, and describes 
them as lighter in complexion than the neighboring tribes. 
The Menomonees are one of the Algonquin tribes, and were 
called Folle Avoine, (meaning wild rice, or crazy oats), by 
the earlv French traders." — Library of Universal Knowl- 
edge, Vol. III., p. 618. 

The annexed picture of Our Lord, (sometimes called St. 
Veronica's Handkerchief), was sent to Mrs. Solomon 
Juneau by Pope Leo XII., in commemoration of her charity 
and mission work among the Indians during the pioneer days 
of Milwaukee. 

The picture, which is from an old wood cut on white silk, 
is 10x13. The picture and the letter which accompanied it, 
are the property of Mrs. Fred. Pond, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Pope Leo's papacy extended over a period of seven years, 
1823-1830. 

The author is indebted to Rev. Joseph Van Bogaert, 
pastor of St. Anthony's church at Tigerton, Wis., for the 
translation of the Latin inscription beneath the picture. 

Uriel B. Smith pays the following tribute to Mrs. 
Juneau : 

"I was intimately acquainted with Mrs. Solomon Juneau. 
My child, Milwaukee Smith, was born October 10, 1835. 
She was the first white child born in Milwaukee, and Mrs. 
Juneau was present at her birth, and attended upon my wife 
in such a kind and motherly manner as to win the love and 
esteem of my wife as well as myself. 

"Mrs. Juneau was also an attendant and watcher at the 
61 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

death bed of my wife some two years after, and during the 
whole period of our acquaintance we were on the most 
intimate terms. 

"For such services rendered to my wife during her sick- 
ness, I offered ample remuneration, which was immediately 
declined — she saying to me, 'Such services were due all, 
and, that too, without consideration.' Such incidents can 
never be forgotten. I trust that Milwaukee today, has her 
equal, — I know it has not her superior." — J. S. Buck's 
Pioneer History of Milwaukee. 



DEATH OF MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

(Milwaukee Sentinel, November 19, 1855.) 

DIED.— At the residence of H. K. White, in this city, 
November 19, 1855 inst., Josette, wife of Solomon Juneau. 

The deceased had been in poor health for some time and 
came here with her husband from their residence in Theresa, 
Wis., for medical advice and treatment. There was nothing 
in the nature of her disease calculated to excite alarm, in 
fact she appeared to be improving, flushed with hope and 
congratulating herself upon a speedy recovery, she died, so 
sudden was her exit from this to the spirit land. 

The death of this good woman deserves more than a 
passing notice ; more than a simple record of the fact that 
she lived and died. Her history is intimately connected with 
that of our city and state, from their earliest settlement. 
Indeed her life has been an eventful one, inasmuch as she has 
been called to pass through all the phases, hardships and 
trials incident to the settlement of a new country. Mrs. 
Juneau was the daughter of Jacque Vieaux, late of Green 
62 



DEATH OF MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Bay, and was born in April, 1803, consequently at death 
was 51 years. She resided at Green Bay until 1820, when 
she was married to Mr. Juneau, who was then engaged as 
a trader on the spot where our city is now located, whither 
she removed soon after her marriage. Here, in the then 
lonely wilderness, with no society or sympathizing friends, 
except what she found in the bosom of her own family, she 
started anew on the journey of life and with patience 
shared with her husband the self-denials of a border life; 
and for thirteen years, up to 1833, there was scarcely an 
incident to break the monotonous mode of living, the nearest 
white settlement on the north being Green Bay, and on the 
south, Chicago. In 1833, the tide of immigration flowing 
into the Mississippi Valley found its way to this locality, 
known then, only as a trading post. Very soon, however, 
the spirit of enterprise, so rife at that day, projected a city, 
and in a brief period, the advantages of Milwaukee became 
extensively known, and its progress has been gradual, until 
the spot marked only by the trader's cabin, has become a 
populous city and the abode of civilization and refinement. 
This great change the deceased lived to witness ; and she 
has done her part toward laying the foundation of society 
here for future generations. But she has gone to her final 
rest, and how fitting and consolatory the thought to her 
friends, that after having from choice removed to a more 
quiet rural retreat in the country, away from the bustle of 
a city, still she should return to die upon the very spot from 
whence she started out upon life's great voyage, and sur- 

63 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

rounded by all the endearing associations of her earlier days. 

Mrs. Juneau was educated in the Catholic faith and for 
many years has been a devoted and consistent member of 
the church. Her Christian virtues were eminently illustrated 
by her benevolent acts. Her charities were never confined 
within the narrow limits of a sect or creed, but the suffering 
poor, the sick and afflicted of every creed and condition in 
life, within the range of her acquaintance, were made the 
happy recipients of her kindness and bounty, and every 
class of suffering humanity always found in her a warm and 
sympathizing heart. She was a fond, faithful and devoted 
wife, an affectionate and loving mother. Her bereaved 
husband, as he now moves on in his lonely pilgrimage, will 
cherish with meek remembrance her many virtues, and the 
numerous children she has left behind, will never forget 
this fond, indulgent and affectionate mother. 

The deceased has also left a large circle of friends, who 
have known her intimately for the past fifteen or twenty 
years, and admired her simplicity of character, her truth- 
fulness and amiability, who will deeply sympathize with the 
family in their bereavement. 

But all are consoled with the belief that what is loss to 
her family and friends is infinite gain to her. 

The funeral will be held from St. John's Cathedral, Fri- 
day morning at 10:30 o'clock, Nov. 23. Interment in the 
Catholic cemetery at the head of Spring Street. 

"Sweet is the scene where virtue dies, 
Where sinks a silent soul to rest." 

Communicated. 

64 




HOME OF NARCISSE M. JUNEAU, 
Theresa, Wis. 



MRS. MORGAN L. MARTIN'S TRIBUTE 

TRIBUTES TO MRS. SOLOMON JUNEAU 
AND FAMILY. 

(Published in the Milwaukee Sentinel, December 5, 1897.) 

"Nor has any mother in Milwaukee ever possessed more 
refined, lady-like instincts, despite her lowly training through 
childhood and youth, than Madam Juneau. As the writer 
remembers the group of children seated at the social 
domestic table, or gathered about the ingleside of the modest 
home in Milwaukee, she can speak of it in that primitive day 
as a household of sweet accord that affected every member 
of it, and which in those most crude years was phenomenal." 

Charles Milwaukee Sivyer, in an address given during 
the Milwaukee Homecoming, August 9, 1909, pays the fol- 
lowing tribute to Mrs. Solomon Juneau : 

"Solomon Juneau has been lauded to the skies and he is 
richly deserving of it all. But Solomon Juneau was not 
alone. He had a helpmate, a loving, loyal wife, and a brave 
woman. Had she the education of a white woman, she 
would have shone as brightly as any of her white sisters. 
Why all these orators don't give that good woman more 
praise I don't know. Why, the last words of Solomon 
Juneau were 'dear wife, I come to you.' " 



67 




NARCISSE M. JUNEAU. 



NARCISSE M. JUNEAU 

Narcisse M. Juneau, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon 
Juneau, was born at Green Bay, November 14, 1821, while 
Mrs. Juneau was on a visit to her parents. He received his 
education in Milwaukee and Detroit, and at an early age 
became his father's assistant in the fur trade with the In- 
dians. He also acted as Indian interpreter for his father. 
October 26, 1842, he was married at Green Bay, Wis., to 
Miss Madeline Yott. Mr. Juneau resided in Milwaukee 
until 1852, when he went to Theresa. He was in that year 
elected register of deeds of Dodge County; was elected to 
the Assembly from Dodge County for 1855 and again in 
1858. In 1864 he was adopted into the Citizens' Band of 
Pottawattomie Indians ; was interpreter for that tribe, speak- 
ing seven different Indian languages, Pottawattomie, Me- 
nominee, Iroquois, Oneida, Chippewa, Stockbridge and 
Kickapoo. In 1869, in company with Mr. Heubschmann, 
Indian agent, he took a band of Indians to Oklahoma, be- 
fore that country was opened up to white settlers. During 
that year, Mr. Juneau removed with his family to Kansas, 
where he engaged in farming, five miles from Topeka. Nine 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Narcisse Juneau, three 
dying in infancy. Mrs. Catherine Bertrand, (deceased), 
the eldest daughter, had four children, three of whom are 
living in Kansas City. Mo. They are, Mrs. Lena B. Farley, 
who has eight children, Catherine, Madeline, Frances, 
Dorothy, Blanch, Sy/illa, Tom, Jr.. and. Josephine. Solomon 
Bertrand, the son, has three children, Wanetta, Walter and 

71 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Ruth. Miss Mary Bertrand. Mrs. Frances Holloway, of 
Grand Rapids, Wis., is the third daughter. There are three 
children, Bertrand, Ralph and Edith Holloway. Julia 
Juneau Lazalle, N. Topeka, Kas., has one son, Albert La- 
zalle, and one grandchild, Judith Anna Lazalle. Mrs. Stella 
Juneau Kerrn, the third daughter, has one daughter, 
Catherine, who is married and has one child. Mrs. Kerrn is 
a resident of Redondo Beach, Cal. Josette Juneau Mitchell, 
the fourth daughter, is a resident of Asher, Oklahoma. 
Charles H. Juneau, the eldest son is a resident of N. Topeka, 
Kas. June 18, 1870, Mr. Juneau was married at Indianap- 
olis, Ind., to Miss Mary Kinnette. Mr. and Mrs. Juneau 
have three children, one son and two daughters. Josette 
Juneau was married June 6, 1890, to Mr. Edward Schwartz, 
of Topeka, Kas. There are ten children, Charles M., Ed- 
ward, Elmer, William, Oscar, Clyde, Mary, Gertrude, Irene, 
Elizabeth. Mr and Mrs. Schwartz have four grandchildren, 
Virginia and Charles Nelson and Dorothy and Homer 
Schwartz. Stella Juneau, the second daughter, married Mr. 
Essington Baird, of Topeka. There are seven children, 
Robert, Charles, John, George, Mercedes, Stella and Alice 
Baird. Mr. and Mrs. Essington Baird were married May 
1, 1895. Lawrence C. Juneau, the son, has two children, 
Paul W. Juneau and Madeline Juneau. Leonard B. J. 
Juneau, the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Narcisse Juneau 
married Miss Mary Matthews, of Fredonia, Kas. There 
are four children, Nellie M., Stella R., Charles and 
Leonard, Jr. 

72 




PAUL JUNEAU. 



PAUL JUNEAU. 

Paul Juneau, second son of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon 
Juneau, was born at Milwaukee, April 29, 1822, the first 
child born in the old log house erected by Mr. Juneau in 
181 8. He attended school in Milwaukee, later completing 
his education at Detroit. He assisted his father in the fur 
trade with the Indians, also acted as interpreter ; was elected 
member of Assembly for 1849 an( l again in l &5&, from 
Juneau, Dodge County, Wis. ; was assistant postmaster dur- 
ing his father's term of office. On September 21, 1844, when 
the City Guards Military Co., of Milwaukee, was organized, 
he was elected 2nd sergeant. He was register of deeds in 
Juneau, Dodge County, when accidentally shot by a young 
boy of that city who was engaged in target practice. Mr. 
Juneau lived but a short time after being wounded, dying 
August 13, 1858, at the age of 35 years. 

Paul Juneau was married February 8, 1848, to Miss 
Olive Cylinda Buttles, at the home of her parents, eight 
miles from the city of Milwaukee. (Miss Buttles was born 
November 29, 1822, at Milton, Pa., being the only daughter 
of Cephas and Nancy Buttles. She was educated at St. 
Joseph's Academy, Emmettsburg, Md. Her parents settled 
in Milwaukee in 1843.) Seven children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Paul Juneau. After the death of her husband, 
Mrs. Juneau returned to Milwaukee, taking up her residence 
with her parents on the farm, where her youngest daughter 
was born. Miss Anna Josette Juneau, the eldest daughter, 
was married in Milwaukee May 22, 1872, to Mr. James 

75 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

McGee, of Oconto. (Mr. McGee was born June 18, 1845, 
at St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick. He 
came to the west in 1866, settling in Oconto, Wis.) Four 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McGee, the Misses 
Olive Jane, Edith Juneau and Pauline Lititia, who are living 
in Milwaukee with their father. C. A. A. McGee, the son, 
who is a resident of San Diego, Cal., married twice, his 
first wife being Mrs. Theiline Mann, of Milwaukee. His 
second wife was Miss Anna Meyer, of Milwaukee. Mr. 
and Mrs. McGee have two children, Juneau Theiline Netha, 
the daughter of Mr. McGee's first wife, and Anna Helene 
McGee ; also an adopted daughter, Elizabeth Mann, the 
daughter of Mr. McGee's first wife. Mrs. James McGee 
died November 5, 1910, and is buried in the family lot, 
Forest Home cemetery, Milwaukee. Miss Bertha Juneau, 
the second daughter, was married in Milwaukee, February 
8, 1883, to Robert Strong Dousman, a son of the late Dr. 
John Dousman and of Mrs. Charlotte Crawford Terhune, 
and a grandson of Gen. Crawford, of Prairie du Chien, Wis. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dousman are residents of Philadelphia, Pa. 
The third daughter, Miss Marion Juneau, was married in 
Milwaukee, June 26, 1879, to Henry Rosseau King, a 
pioneer newspaper and business man of that city. Mr. and 
Mrs. King have three children. Harry Juneau King, of 
Chicago, who married Miss Mora Saxe, of that city; 
Hellen Juneau King, who married William Ott, of Mil- 
waukee, July 8, 1913, Mr. Ott died August 17, 1914. 
There is one daughter, Jane Elizabeth Ott; and Corp. Paul 

76 



PAUL JUNEAU 

Juneau King. Mr. King is a member of Battery A, First 
Field Artillery, W. N. G. The two sons are Laurent Buttles 
and Frank A. Juneau, and the two youngest daughters are 
the Misses Mary Stoughton and Pauline Juneau, all of 
Chicago. Mrs. Paul Juneau died February 12, 1875, and is 
buried in the Buttles family lot, Forest Home cemetery, 
Milwaukee. Mrs. Juneau was a sister of the late Anson 
W., Augustus, Orrin, Frederick and Dr. Oscar Buttles. 



77 






s 



/m #> 




THERESA JUNEAU. 



THERESA JUNEAU. 

Theresa Juneau, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Solomon Juneau, was born at Milwaukee in the old log 
house, March 24, 1825. She received her education in 
Green Bay and Detroit. Miss Juneau was a noted beauty 
and social favorite in Milwaukee and Green Bay, as was also 
her sister Harriet, and the coming of the Juneau girls to the 
latter city was looked forward to with great pleasure by 
the older inhabitants of that historic city. On September 
16, 1847, Theresa Juneau became the wife of Henry Kirk 
White. They were married at the old Juneau homestead, 
Milwaukee and Division streets. (At the time of their 
marriage, Mr. White was known as one of the ablest lawyers 
in Wisconsin. He served as quartermaster in Co. "A", 19th 
Reg. Wis. Vol. Inft., from December 18, 1861, to Septem- 
ber 11, 1862.) Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
White, five dying in youth. Marie Juneau, the eldest 
daughter married Mr. W. P. Cosgrave, whose parents were 
early residents of Milwaukee. There were three children, 
Florence, Paul, (deceased,) and Genevieve Cosgrave. The 
daughters are living with their parents at Winona, Minn., 
where Air. and Mrs. Cosgrave have resided for a number of 
years ; Josette White, the second daughter, married Mr. J. 
B. Reynolds, of Milwaukee. They have five children, four 
daughters and one son, John, Jr., who is a member of 
Troop E, First Regiment, W. N. G., Marie, Hellen, (Mrs. 
W. T. Kiernan, of Milwaukee, who has one daughter, 
81 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Dorothy) ; Dorothy and Elizabeth Reynolds. Sara White, 
the third daughter, married Mr. Sales, and is a resident of 
California; the fourth and youngest daughter is Mrs. 
Parmalee, of Kansas City, Mo. ; S. J. White, the eldest son, 
married Miss Dora Sadler, there were two children, Nor- 
man and Genevieve White; R. C. White, (deceased,) mar- 
ried and had one daughter, Theresa White. Theresa Juneau 
White died April 26, 1887, at the home of her daughter, 
Mrs. W. P. Cosgrave, and is buried in one of the Juneau 
lots, Calvary cemetery, Milwaukee. R. C. White is buried 
beside his mother. 



82 



A 




FRANCIS DODGE JUNEAU. 



FRANK DODGE JUNEAU. 

Frank Dodge Juneau was born at Milwaukee January 
18, 1827, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau, 
born in the old log house. He attended the Milwaukee 
schools and learned the tinner's trade with the late Augustus 
Buttles, the pioneer hardware merchant of Milwaukee. In 
185 1 he moved a band of Menominee Indians from Wiscon- 
sin to St. Mary's, Kas., where he remained two years and 
where he was employed as Indian interpreter, speaking 
several different Indian tongues. He returned to Wiscon- 
sin in 1853, settling in Theresa. January 7, 1857, he married 
Miss Leocadie Beaudoin, of that place, Rev. Father Rell 
performing the ceremony. Mr. Juneau was for years en- 
gaged in the hardware business in Theresa and was treas- 
urer of Theresa township for twenty-eight years. Five 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Juneau, two sons and 
three daughters. Raymond Solomon Juneau, the eldest son, 
was married at Theresa, April 21, 1889, to Miss Jennie 
Schmidt, of that place. There are four children, two sons 
and two daughters. Frank Juneau, the eldest son, married 
Miss Hilda Lippert, of Milwaukee. They have two children, 
Raymond and Bernice Juneau. Josephine, Elmer and Leona 
Juneau are at home with their parents. There is one grand- 
child, Ruth Brochek. Mr. and Mrs. Juneau are residents 
of Kankauna, Wis., where Mr. Juneau has been in the em- 
ploy of the Chicago & North- Western road for a great many 
years. Marie Juneau, the eldest daughter, was married at 

85 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Theresa, to Mr. Joseph Husp, of Colesville, Wis. Eight 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Husp, Jacob, Mathilde, 
(Mathilde married Mr. Kippenhahn. There are three 
children, Elmer, Norma and Edgar Kippenhahn), Frank, 
John, William, Marie, Henry and Joseph Husp, Jr. Mrs. 
Husp and family are residents of Milwaukee. Eugene 
Juneau, the second son, is unmarried and makes his home in 
Milwaukee with his sister, Mrs. Marie Juneau Husp. Ma- 
thilde Juneau, the second daughter, was married in Milwau- 
kee, to Mr. Henry Petri, of Wayne, Wis. Mr. and Mrs, 
Petri have three children, Ella, Otto and Edgar, who are at 
home with their parents. Josette Juneau, the third daughter, 
died in Milwaukee in 19 13, and is buried in that city. Frank 
Dodge Juneau died in Theresa, February 5, 1890, Mrs. 
Juneau dying one year previous, February 24, 1889. They 
are buried in the Catholic cemetery at that place. Mrs. 
Juneau was born in Canada and came to Wisconsin in the 
early fifties with her parents. 



86 




ISABELLA FOX, IN INDIAN COSTUME. 



HARRIET JUNEAU. 

Harriet Juneau was born at Milwaukee, April 26, 1829, 
being the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau 
born in the old log house. She attended school in Milwau- 
kee, later going to Detroit where her education was com- 
pleted. She was an accomplished musician on the piano, 
guitar and harp, and spoke French, Indian and German 
fluently. Miss Juneau was a member of St. John's Cathedral 
choir, having a fine tenor voice. April 16, 1856, Harriet 
Juneau was married at Theresa to Frank Fox, Rev. Father 
Dale, of Fond du Lac, performing the ceremony. (Frank 
Fox, a native of Ireland, the eldest son of John and Mary 
Fox, was born at Castle Daley, County West Meath, July 
24, 1825, and came to America with his parents in the early 
thirties. Mr. Fox was in the employ of the American Ex- 
press Co. for many years between Green Bay and Fond du 
Lac, and also on the Mississippi River between St. Louis 
and New Orleans. For sixteen years he was in the employ 
of the Western Union railroad as agent at Shannon, 111. 
He died January 18, 1881, at Hartley, la., and is buried in 
the Catholic cemetery at Emmettsburg, la.) Nine children 
were born to Frank and Harriet Fox, six dying in infancy. 
Marie Josette, the eldest daughter, in 1884, became the wife 
of C. E. Hartley, of Salem, la., a Quaker by birth. They 
had one child, Frank Norton Hartley, who was married June 
22, 1907, to Miss Theresa Hartley, of Trinidad, Col. Frank 
and Theresa Hartley have two children, Frances E. and 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Charles Juneau Hartley. C. E. Hartley, with his son and 
family are residents of Springer, New Mexico, where Marie 
Fox Hartley died December 7, 1895, and at which place she is 
buried in the Hartley family lot. Frances Harriet Fox, the 
second daughter, was married June 22, 1892, to Frederick 
Eugene Pond, (Will Wildwood), at Milwaukee. Mr. Pond 
is a writer of note, having published several books on out- 
door sports, and is a collector of books on outdoor sports, 
having some eight hundred volumes. For the past seventeen 
years they have resided in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Mr. 
Pond holds the position of editor of the Sportsman's Review. 
The third daughter. Isabella Fox, is a resident of Kaukauna, 
Wis. Miss Fox is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, 
of Kaukauna, and aide to the Indian Woman's Relief Corps 
on the Keshena Reservation, the only Indian Corps in the 
world. Harriet Juneau Fox died June 8, 1891, at the home 
of her husband's sister, Mrs. Wm. Campion, Milwaukee, 
and is buried in the Juneau family lot, Calvary cemetery, 
in that city. 



ELIZABETH JOSETTE JUNEAU. 

Elizabeth Josette Juneau was the third daughter born 
at Milwaukee, to Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau, in the log 
house, November 20, 1830. She died at the age of five 
years. She is buried in Calvary cemetery, her body having 
been removed from the Spring Street cemetery. 
90 




ELIZABETH JOSETTE JUNEAU. 




CHARLOTTE JUNEAU. 



CHARLOTTE JUNEAU. 

Charlotte Juneau, fourth daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Solo- 
mon Juneau, was born at Milwaukee in the old log house in 
July, 1832. Miss Juneau attended school in Milwaukee, 
later going to Detroit where she completed her education. 
She was, like her mother, of a very retiring nature, and did 
not mingle much in society. After her removal to Theresa 
with her parents, she was for a time a pupil of the late Col. 
Geo. W. Featherstonhaugh who conducted a school in French 
and painting. Miss Juneau spoke French, German and 
Indian. From April, 1858, she taught school in Theresa 
Township up to the time of her marriage in the spring of 
i860, when she became the wife of Charles J. Walthers. 
(Charles J. Walthers was born in Betzigerode, in the 
Province of Hesse-Nassau, Germany and came to this coun- 
try in the early fifties. He enlisted in Co. "K", 35th Reg. 
Wis. Vol. Inft., February 1, 1864; he was transferred from 
Co. "H" ; was Sergeant, 1st Sergeant; 2nd Lieutenant, De- 
cember 6, 1865, not mustered; 1st Lieutenant, March 5, 
1866, not mustered; M. O. March 15, 1866. Mr. Walthers 
died May 19, 19 12, at the National Soldiers' Home, Mil- 
waukee, at which place he is buried). Charles and Char- 
lotte Juneau Walthers had one son, Louis Juneau Walthers, 
who is a resident of Milwaukee. After the death of his 
mother he was sent to Hesse-Cassel, Province of Hesse- 
Nassau, where he entered the German High school. Mr. 
Walthers is quite a linguist, speaking several different lan- 

95 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

guages. He returned to America in 1878. Mr. Walthers 
was married at Onalaska, Wis., to Miss Helen Druschke 
in 1891. (Miss Druschke was born at Gollnow, Empire 
of Germany, in 1874). Six daughters were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Walthers. Hertha Juneau, the eldest daughter 
married Mr. Hill Bernstein, of Montreal, Can. They are 
residents of Chicago; Elfrida, the second daughter, mar- 
ried Mr. Victor Ehrman, of Milwaukee. They have one 
child, Bernice Ehrman ; the other daughters are Margaret 
Sophie Juneau, Norma H. Juneau, Helen Juneau and 
Mildred A. Juneau Walthers, who are at home with their 
parents. Charlotte Juneau Walthers died April 24, 1869, 
at Theresa, and is buried in the Catholic cemetery at that 
place. 

The following is a copy of a teacher's certificate issued 
by Dennis Short, superintendent of schools of the town of 
Theresa, 1858, to Miss Charlotte Juneau. 

I do hereby Certify that I have Examined Charlotte 
Juneau and do believe that she is Qualified in Regard to 
Moral Character learning and Ability to teach A Common 
School in this town for one year From the date hereof 
Given under my hand this 17, day of 

April A D; 1858 

Signed, Dennis Short Superintendent of schools 
Of the town of theresa — 
On the reverse side of the certificate is the folowing: 
Charlotte Juneau, Teachers Certificate, 1858 D; Short 
Town Superintendent of schools of the Town of 
theresa. 

96 




MARGARET JUNEAU. 



MARGARET JUNEAU. 

Margaret Juneau, who was born at Milwaukee, Decem- 
ber 26, 1833, was the fifth daughter and last child of Mr. 
and Mrs. Solomon Juneau, born in the old log house. She 
attended the Milwaukee schools, also the Notre Dame Con- 
vent in that city. She was a fine musician and singer. 
Petite, vivacious and bright, she was a general favorite with 
all, and an especial favorite of her father. In 1857, Mar- 
garet Juneau was married at Theresa, Wis., to George H. 
Walthers. (George H. Walthers was born at Betzigerode, 
Province of Hesse-Nassau, November 23, 1829. He was a 
lieutenant in the Hessian army, resigned in 1854, emigrated 
to America, where he settled at Theresa, Dodge County, 
Wis., in 1855. He was county surveyor of Dodge County, 
and a member of the Dodge County Drainage Commission. 
In 1861 Geo. Walthers enlisted as captain of Co. "A", 7th 
Wis. Inft., (Iron Brigade), February 4, 1863, was appointed 
major of 34th Wis. Inft., and the same year was trans- 
ferred to the 35th Wis. Inft., was appointed Colonel of the 
35th Wis., and was dismissed from service when the regi- 
ment returned in 1866. He was Revenue Inspector for the 
First Dist. of Wisconsin in 1875-76; was member of Wis- 
consin State Legislature ; was a justice of the peace of the 
ninth and tenth wards in Milwaukee ; removing to the East 
side, he was elected justice of the peace of the First, Seventh 
and Eighteenth wards. George Walthers died August 6, 
1895. He is buried at Forest Home cemetery, Milwaukee.) 

99 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

George and Margaret Juneau Walthers had three children, 
two sons and one daughter. Ottomar, the second son, died 
at the age of two and one-half years. Mrs. Walthers died 
June 3, 1861, and her baby daughter, Alexia, aged one day, 
was buried in the same coffin with its mother. Mrs. 
Walthers was buried on the Narcisse Juneau farm, Theresa, 
but later, her remains, with those of her little son, Ottomar, 
were removed to the Catholic cemetery and buried by the 
side of her sister, Charlotte Juneau Walthers, at Theresa. 

My dear Mag, 

I hope you reach Green Bay safe and in good health. I 
start tomorrow morning for Milwaukee and will be back 
Thursday or Friday — a week from tomorrow I will go as 
far as Oshkosh and Butte des Mortes — so write to me this 
week and if your mother will be ready by a week from next 
Thursday I will go from Oshkosh after you unless your 
friends will come to pay us a visit and come together. 
Narcisse arrived here last evening he has a very bad cold. 
He starts again Wednesday and won't be back again before 
the middle of March. We are well and send much love to 
all relations and friends. Your father, 

S. Juneau. 
Sunday eve. 

Theresa, February 4th, 1855. 

Forty-six years ago today, 4th, my poor mother was 
buried, she died the 2nd. 

Louis kisses his mother and grandmother fifty times. 
Theresa, April 20, 1855. 
Very Dear Child. 

I heard of you yesterday and that your mother was well. 
Poor Eugene is very sick indeed of his old complaint. We 
have got to sit up with him all the time, (blurred) you 
know. Theresa has got a nice little girl, the rest of the 



MARGARET JUNEAU 

family are well. I am lonesome. I don't think I can go to 
Fond du Lac tomorrow on account of Eugene. Kind regards 
to Walther and Paul's family, also to Mr. Douglas — your 
old father 

S. Juneau. 

Copies of these letters were taken from the Milwaukee 
Journal and were loaned for publication by the late Col. 
Geo. H. Walthers. 



IOI 




EUGENE JUNEAU. 



EUGENE JUNEAU. 

Eugene Juneau was born at Milwaukee, December n, 
1836, being the first child born in the frame dwelling erected 
by Mr. Juneau, at the corner of East Water and Michigan 
streets. He was educated in Milwaukee. After his removal 
to Theresa, he was Indian interpreter and for several years, 
was register of deeds of Dodge County. He was married 
at Theresa to Miss Delia Crotteau, of that place, by the Rev. 
Father Rell. During the year 1863, Mr. Juneau removed 
from Theresa to Rudolph, Wood County, Wis., where he 
held the office of town clerk for sixteen years. Mr. Juneau 
held other offices of public trust in Wood County. Eight 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Juneau, two dying in 
infancy. The eldest son, Eugene Juneau, Jr., of Rudolph, 
Wis., has five children, Lydia, Elvia, George, Telespher and 
Elenore. The children of Israel Juneau, (deceased,) the 
second son, are : Verna, Isabella, Elmer, Leland, Arthur and 
Frances Juneau. Mrs. Mathilde Kerningham, the eldest 
daughter, Park Falls, Wis., has one daughter. The second 
daughter, Isabella Juneau Cleveland, (deceased,) had one 
daughter, Mrs. Blanche Cleveland Nelson, of Champaign. 
111. Andrew Juneau, the third son, has five children, 
Howard, Edna, Beatrice, May and Norma Juneau. Mr. 
Juneau is a resident of Park Falls, Wis. Mrs. Juneau is still 
living and resides with her son, Eugene Juneau, Jr., at 
Rudolph, Wis. Mr. Juneau died at Rudolph, Wis., Septem- 
ber 22, 1883, and is buried in the Catholic cemetery at that 
place. 

105 




MATHILDE JUNEAU. 



MATHILDE JUNEAU. 

Mathilde Juneau was born at Milwaukee October 4, 
1837, in the Juneau home, East Water and Michigan streets. 
She attended the public schools and Notre Dame Convent 
of that city, was a fine musician and singer. She removed 
with her parents to Theresa, where she resided until their 
death, when she returned to Milwaukee, making her home 
with her sister, Mrs. H. K. White, at whose home she died 
May 22, 1864, after a lingering illness. She is buried in the 
Juneau family lot, Calvary cemetery, beside her father. 



109 




ELLEN FRANCES JUNEAU. 



ELLEN FRANCES JUNEAU. 

Ellen Frances Juneau was born at Milwaukee, October 3, 
1839, in the old Juneau homestead, corner of Milwaukee and 
Division streets. She was educated at St. Joseph's Academy, 
Emmettsburg, Md., and was an accomplished singer. Miss 
Juneau's beauty, combined with her happy and pleasing 
disposition, made her a favorite with all whom she came in 
contact. After graduating from St. Joseph's Academy, she 
was offered a position by the Bishop of New York City, to 
sing in the Cathedral of that city, with a large salary and 
all expenses, but owing to the death of her parents, she did 
not accept the offer. She taught school and music in 
Theresa before her marriage which took place October 15, 
i860, at Theresa, to Mr. Charles F. Wolters. (Charles F. 
Wolters was born in Pritz, Germany, and came to America 
when 14 years of age. He died at Beloit, Wis., September 
11, 1914, at which place he is buried.) Charles and Ellen 
Juneau Wolters had ten children, eight of whom are living. 

Mrs. Isabella Sheard, the eldest daughter, Beloit, Wis., 
has five children, Herbert, Sarah, James, Louis and Mar- 
guerite ; Louis Wolters, the eldest son, Beloit, has seven 
children, Clifford, George, Jessie, Hazel, Louella and Edward 
Wolters ; the children of Mrs. Sarah Royce, the second 
daughter, are Alice, Frederick, Harry, Harriet and Clarence 
Royce and one grandchild, Mary Alice Thompson ; Mrs. 
Harriet Lee, Hanover, Wis., the third daughter, has three 
daughters, Lenora, Gertrude and Lydia, and one grand- 

"3 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

child, Francis Henry Lee ; Mrs. Grace Smith, the youngest 
daughter, San Jacinto, Cal., has six children, Floid, Ralph, 
Margaret, Gertrude, Mildred and Ruth ; Frank Wolters, 
the second son, Orfordville, Wis., has four daughters, Lyla, 
Marie, Ruth and Ruby, the two last named being twins; 
George Wolters, McFarland, Cal., is unmarried ; Mrs. Ellen 
Page, Brodhead, Wis., has no children. Mrs. Ellen Juneau 
Wolters died in Beloit, Wis., May 19, 1899, and is buried in 
the Catholic cemetery at that place. 



U 




MARIE JUNEAU. 



MARIE JUNEAU. 

Marie Juneau was born at Milwaukee, March 29, 1841, 
at the old Juneau homestead, corner of Division and Mil- 
waukee streets. She attended the Milwaukee public school 
up to the time of her removal with her parents to Theresa 
in 1852, when she resumed her studies at a private school 
conducted by the late Mrs. Nicholas Husting, Miss Juneau 
taught District School No. 6, in the Town of Theresa, for 
three years. February 16, 1863, Miss Juneau was married at 
Theresa to Jean Pierre Husting. (Mr. Husting was born in 
Lintgen, in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, August 4, 
1838, and at the age of 17 years came to America with his 
parents, Michael and Anna Husting, settling in Theresa. 
Mr. Husting was educated in the parochial school of Luxem- 
burg. Shortly after his arrival here he learned the jeweler's 
trade at Fond du Lac, which business he followed for a 
great many years. He was secretary of the German-English 
Academy at Fond du Lac, postmaster at Mayville, Wis., 
under Grover Cleveland, also treasurer of the Mayville 
school district. Mr. Husting speaks English, French, Ger- 
man and Luxemburg fluently.) Eight children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Husting, all of whom are living. Otto, the 
eldest son, was a traveling salesman for a Milwaukee 
clothing firm for twelve years, was city clerk of Beaver Dam 
for a number of years, and is now acting as private secretary 
for his brother, Senator Paul O. Husting, at Washington. 
Mr. Husting married Miss Abbie Costella, of Columbus, 
117 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Neb., in 1896. U. S. Senator Paul O. Husting is unmarried 
and makes his home with his parents in Mayville. Max, the 
third son, is a resident of Fargo, N. Dak., where he is en- 
gaged in newspaper work. In 1896 he married Miss Anna 
Tscharner, of Alma, Wis. There is one daughter, Lucile 
Husting. Isabella J. Husting, the only daughter, was mar- 
ried in 1895 to Courtney Wayland Lamoreux, of Mayville. 
Mr. Lamoreux is county judge of Dodge County. There 
are two daughters, Vera Rosalind and Marion. Leo F. 
Husting, the fourth son, has been in the employ of the 
Chicago & North- Western Railroad since 1891, is a resident 
of Kaukauna, Wis., where he has charge of the North and 
South side depots. In 1897 he married Miss Nellie Somers, 
of Chilton. There were eight children born to Mr and Mrs. 
Husting, three dying in infancy. Those living are Juneau, 
Charles, Francis, Madeline Josette and Mary Josephine. 
Bonduel A., the fifth son, is a resident of Fond du Lac. 
Mr. Husting entered the University of Wisconsin class of 
1900, was admitted to the bar on an examination before the 
State Board, in December, 1900, and commenced practice 
at Fond du Lac in 1902 ; was village attorney at the opening 
up of North Fond du Lac; was secretary of the city and 
county Democratic committees ; elected district attorney of 
Fond du Lac county in 1905 and 1906. Mr. Husting is a 
member of the law firm of Husting & Husting of Fond du 
Lac and Mayville. He married Miss Kate Anderson, of 
Eldorado, Wis. There are three daughters, Hellen Harriet, 
Isabella and Margaret. Gus B., the sixth son, attended the 



MARIE JUNEAU 

University of Wisconsin law school, was admitted to the 
bar in 1903, entered on the practice of law at Park Falls, 
Wis., later going to Kaukauna, where he remained several 
years. Mr. Hnsting is the junior member of the law firm 
of Hnsting & Husting at Mayville and Fond du Lac. In 
1907 he was married at Mayville to Miss Paula Ruedebusch. 
There are four children, Paul Laurent, Vivian, Maybelle 
and Marie Louise. The seventh son is Berthold Juneau 
Husting. "Pete", as he is known to all his friends, was a 
page in the Wisconsin legislature in 1891 and 1893. He 
entered the law school of the University of Wisconsin and 
graduated in the class of 1900. He played on 'varsity base- 
ball and football teams and baseball with Milwaukee, Pitts- 
burg, Boston and Philadelphia professional clubs, the latter 
team winning the championship in 1902. Mr. Husting 
retired from baseball to enter the law firm of Husting & 
Husting as a junior member in Fond du Lac. He was 
supervisor of the Ninth ward, Fond du Lac ; also chairman 
of the Democratic county committee. In 1902 he was mar- 
ried at Mayville to Miss Agnes Sternberger, of that city, 
a High School classmate. There are two children, Suzanne 
Madeline and John Jakob Marzell. Mr. Husting is now a 
resident of Mayville and is connected with the law firm of 
Husting & Husting, of Mayville and Fond du Lac. Mrs. 
Jean Pierre Husting is an active member of the Woman's 
Relief Corps, of Mayville; was one of the ladies on the 
reception committee to meet President and Mrs. Wilson, on 
their visit to Milwaukee in 1916. She speaks and writes 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

English, French and German fluently. Mr. and Mrs. Hust- 
ing are residents of Mayville, which place has been their 
home for nearly half a century. 




ISABELLA REBECCA JUNEAU. 



ISABELLA REBECCA JUNEAU. 

Isabella Rebecca Juneau was born at Milwaukee, Sep- 
tember 30, 1845, in the old Juneau homestead, corner of 
Division and Milwaukee streets. She attended a private 
school in Theresa conducted by the late Mrs. N. Husting, 
and later the Notre Dame Convent in Milwaukee. After 
the death of her parents, she made her home with her sisters, 
Mrs. Frank Fox and Mrs. H. K. White, at whose home she 
died April 19, 1866. She is buried in the Juneau family lot, 
Calvary cemetery, Milwaukee, by the side of her mother. 



123 




BONDUEL F. JUNEAU. 



BONDUEL F. JUNEAU. 

Bonduel Fleurimont Juneau, the second youngest son of 
Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau, was born in the Juneau 
home, Milwaukee and Division streets, May 25, 1844. He 
attended the Third ward school in that city for a short 
time, when he removed to Theresa with his parents, where 
he resided until 1862, when, on November 7, of that year, 
he enlisted as a drummer boy in Co. "C", 17th Regiment, 
Wis. Vol. Inft. He was mustered out July 14, 1865 at 
which time he went to Shannon, 111., where he entered the 
employ of the Western Union Railroad, making his home 
with his sister, Mrs. Frank Fox, until 1870. Mr. Juneau 
was named for the Rev. Fleurimont Bonduel, the pioneer 
missionary priest, who was a devoted friend of the Juneau 
family for many, many years. During the year 1870, Mr. 
Juneau married Miss Adelaide Dougherty, of Shannon. 
Mr. and Mrs. Juneau had five children, three of whom are 
living. The eldest daughter, Katherine, (deceased,) married 
Mr. Fred H. Smith, of Topeka, Kas., and later removed to 
California. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had one son, Merton E. 
Smith, of San Francisco, editor of the Sunday Telegraph. 
Mrs. Smith is buried at San Francisco. The second daughter 
is Miss Harriet Juneau, of Kansas City, Mo. ; the eldest son, 
Paul Juneau, is a resident of Avondale, Ohio ; the second 
son, William Juneau, is a resident of Absarokee, Mont., 
where he has a large ranch; the third son, Bernard Juneau, 
died in Chicago, in 19 12, at which place he is buried. In 
127 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

1873 Bonduel Juneau went west, settling near Manhattan, 
Kas., where he engaged in farming. He later removed to 
Topeka, Kas., where he made his home for a great many 
years. Mr. Juneau died February 27, 191 5, at his home in 
Oakland, a suburb of Topeka, where he was buried by the 
G. A. R. Post, of Topeka, of which he was a member. 
Mrs. Juneau died August 23, 1885, and is buried at Man- 
hattan, Kas. 



128 



LOUIS JUNEAU. 

Louis Juneau, the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Solo- 
mon Juneau, was born at Milwaukee in the old Juneau 
homestead, Milwaukee and Division streets, in 1847. After 
the death of his parents he made his home with his sister, 
Mrs. Theresa White, Milwaukee, attended the public schools 
and at an early age learned the printer's trade, which he fol- 
lowed in that city until the early seventies' when he went 
south and was last heard from in 1890 in Holly Springs, 
Miss. He married and had a large family. It is not known 
whether he is still living. 



129 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 



ISABELLA FOX. 

Isabella Fox, dressed in Indian costume, showing style 
of dress worn at the time Mr. and Mrs. Juneau were mar- 
ried. 

The dress is the property of Mr. J. D. Lawe, of Kau- 
kauna, and was worn by his grandmother, Theresa Rankin 
Lawe, wife of Judge John Lawe, of Green Bay. Mrs. 
Juneau and Mrs. Lawe were cousins on the maternal side. 



130 



DOCUMENTARY HISTORY. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

Inaugural Address Read By Solomon Juneau on En- 
tering the Office of Mayor of the City of 
Milwaukee, Friday, April ioth, 1846. 

Gentlemen : It is made my duty by the charter under 
which we have our existence as a municipal corporation, to 
recommend to you, in writing, such measures as I may deem 
expedient and calculated to advance the interest of our city. 

In performing this duty, I feel conscious that my burden 
is light, knowing, as I do, that those with whom I am to co- 
operate are well versed in all matters pertaining to our 
welfare. However, as it will be expected on this occasion 
that I should make some general remarks relative to the 
course to be pursued by us, I shall proceed in as brief a 
manner as possible to lay before you a few general matters 
that I think should receive an early attention at your hands. 

The confusion incident to a change of government, has 
rendered it impossible for me to lay before you a correct 
statement of our financial condition, but prudence would 
seem to dictate to us the propriety of ascertaining at as 
early a day as possible the precise state of the financial 
affairs of the city, and all proper efforts in future should be 
directed to keeping our expenditures within our means, and 
if it ascertained that we are in debt at present, no time 
should be lost in taking such measures as will be best cal- 

131 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

culated to insure at no distant period a final liquidation of 
all just claims against us. 

Our commercial interest should receive a proper share 
of your attention, and every facility should be afforded those 
engaged in commercial business, to transact the same in a 
prompt and efficient manner, and nothing should be wanting 
on the part of the city, to render the whole of the commer- 
cial part of it easy of access to the vessels navigating our 
lakes. 

Proper measures should be taken to render easy of access 
our city to every part of the country around us, and a due 
sense of self-respect would seem to suggest to us the pro- 
priety of keeping our streets and sidewalks as clear from 
impediments as the business of the city will permit. 

Such measures as in your wisdom you may think meet, 
should be taken to preserve the health of the city ; and 
nothing should be left undone that would have a tendency 
to relieve the distressed and destitute who are incapable of 
providing the means of comfort and support for themselves. 

The Fire Department should receive your fostering care, 
and everything should be done that is calculated to render 
those volunteers, serving the city in the capacity, secure from 
injuries by the explosion of powder or other explosive 
matter. 

The subject of gaming should receive your attention, and 

nothing in your power should be wanting to secure the youth 

of the city from the wiles and devices of the gambler. Nor 

should he who is so far regardless of the morals of a com- 

132 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS 

munity, as to prostitute the energies of his mind and body 
to gaining a livelihood by openly following the illicit business 
of gambling, be permitted to range our streets unwhipt of 
justice. 

This much I have thought proper to suggest as being of 
a public and general nature, trusting fully to your wisdom 
and experience in rightly directing all things relating to our 
welfare, and in framing such ordinances as will best be 
calculated to advance the interest of the city, fully assuring 
you, that you will have my cordial co-operation in everything 
tending to promote our common good ; and that all in my 
power will be done to have the laws of the territory, and 
ordinances of the city, properly observed and faithfully and 
impartially executed. 

In performing the duties of presiding officer of your 
body, I shall have to ask your indulgence and assistance, 
knowing that my want of experience in presiding over 
deliberate bodies will be sensibly felt by me, and without 
your indulgence and friendly counsel I can scarcely hope to 
execute that part of my official duty in a manner satisfactory 
to myself or the public. 

Solomon Juneau. 



Written for Mr. Juneau by H. N. Wells. 

Wheeler's Chronicles of Milwaukee, pp. 182-183-184. 



133 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

VALEDICTORY. 

Solomon Juneau's Address on Retiring as Mayor oe 
the City of Milwaukee. 

Gentlemen : Before I vacate the chair, I wish to make 
a few remarks to your honorable body. 

When I first set foot on this soil, some thirty years ago, 
I little thought that during my age and generation, I should 
behold such a sight as now presents itself. Then the "Red 
man" was supreme monarch of the place on which our 
delightful city now stands. The plains and rivers of Wis- 
consin belonged to him, and were subject to his will and 
control. 

But now the scene is changed. 

The "war whoop" of the Indian has given way to the 
mild counsels of civilized and intelligent men. The wigwam 
is supplanted by massive and ornamental structures. The 
place of the bark canoe, which was then the only craft which 
floated upon the waters of the noble river that meanders 
through the heart of your city, has been filled by the hun- 
dreds of vessels, propelled by both steam and wind, which 
now annually visit our shores and enter our harbor, laden 
with the commerce of the east, and which bears away the 
surplus produce of Wisconsin. 

Here we behold a city of twelve thousand inhabitants, 
with her beautiful streets and walks, her fair gardens, her 
splendid buildings, and her intelligent and enterprising popu- 
lation, where eleven years ago the soil was unbroken. 

134 



VALEDICTORY 

I have been a resident of your city since the first com- 
mencement, to the present day, and I trust, gentlemen, that 
you will do me the justice to believe that its interests, growth 
and prosperity have ever been and still are my dearest desire. 
That it may continue to increase in size and population is my 
dearest wish, that we may have good laws and the same well 
administered, will be my constant prayer, when I shall have 
retired from the honorable and responsible situation, to 
which the partiality of my fellow citizens has elevated me. 

In yielding up the trust reposed in me, I cannot but feel 
a proud satisfaction that it is to pass into the hands of a 
gentleman whose ability, integrity, high standing and long 
tried virtues among his fellow citizens fairly entitles him to 
the confidence they have reposed in him. Allow me then to 
tender to you, and through you to my fellow citizens, my 
sincere acknowledgment for the support, kindness and in- 
dulgence which I have received at your and their hands. 

I was conscious at the outset, that my experience had not 
been such as to qualify me for the discharge of the duties 
of the office I now hold, either in a measure satisfactory to 
the public or myself, but notwithstanding you have received 
little aid from me, I am satisfied that the public interests 
have not suffered from want of an able and faithful repre- 
sentative in the Common Council. And for the prudent, 
judicious and economical administration of the offices of 
our infant city the people are indebted to your wisdom and 
intelligence. I regret that other associations have allowed 
me to preside so seldom over your deliberations, not that 

135 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

I could have hoped to aid or benefit you, or those you have 
so ably and faithfully represented, but because I fear that 
my absence may have been construed into an indifference to 
the interests of our city. Again offering you and particularly 
the gentleman who has with so much ability presided over 
your deliberations during my absence my grateful acknowl- 
edgment, and my best wishes for your individual health 
and happiness, I cheerfully give up the chair I now occupy 

to the gentleman whom the people have chosen to succeed 
me. 

Solomon Juneau. 

Milwaukee, April 14, 1847. 

Milwaukee Under the Charter, Vol. III., pp. 62-63, by Jas. S. Buck. 



ADDRESS OF MR. HENRY W. BLEYER. 

At the eighty-fifth anniversary of the arrival of Solomon 
Juneau at Milwaukee, a banquet was held at the Plankinton 
house in that city, by the Milwaukee County Pioneers' Asso- 
ciation, at which Mr. Henry W. Bleyer,* president of the 
Association, made the following address : 

"It is remarkable, that after Mr. Juneau had lived 
twenty-five years among the Indians and rough engages, he 
could adapt himself so well to the ways of civilization. 
Edward Holton, who knew him intimately, said that he was 
an elegant gentleman, and that his word was as good as his 
bond, and testified that in all the affairs of the city he was 



'Mr. Henry Bleyer is now a resident of Madison, Wis. 
I 3 6 



ADDRESS OF MR. HENRY W. BLEYER 

an honored and useful citizen. John P. McGregor added his 
testimony : 'The early pioneers of Milwaukee yet bear wit- 
ness to Mr. Juneau's many virtues, to his hospitality, to his 
largeness and warmth of heart, to his ready sympathy and 
help, to his manliness of character, and to his full possession 
of the qualities which make a man a good neighbor, a good 
friend and a good citizen.' 

"During the eighteen years that elapsed between his 
coming and the arrival of many settlers, he spent the winters 
at Green Bay and Chicago, and it is related of him that he 
was at all times an elegant gentleman and a stickler for 
etiquette. He had his children all educated liberally. He 
was on a footing with Kilbourn and Walker, and kept pace 
with them in steps of progression. He built us a court 
house and gave us a public park. As a merchant he was 
liberal — too liberal for his own good. He was a sweet 
singer. On Christmas mornings for years in the early 
pioneer days the church was crowded to hear him sing the 
Venite. On other occasions he sang the Marsellaise, and at 
many a social gathering his Canadian boating songs were 
called for and sung. 

"After the place was settled up he was one of the original 
political powers of the young city. The original political 
influences of 1835 were strong in Milwaukee for years after. 
At the first election (1835) twenty-seven officers were 
chosen. There were only thirty-nine voters. Only four of 
these had legal residence, as the law of Michigan, of which 

137 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Milwaukee was then a part, made a year's residence the 
franchise qualification. 

"Juneau and Byron Kilbourn, the first road commis- 
sioners, signed a number of records as officials. This was 
a sign that they were good friends personally all the time, 
and that the fights between the East and West villages did 
not originate with them. From the first twenty-seven 
original officers, four mayors, Juneau, Kilbourn, Walker and 
Chase, were afterwards taken. Walker was the first super- 
visor and fence viewer. 

"The election of Solomon Juneau as the first mayor of 
Milwaukee is unique. There were four ballots in the con- 
vention which resulted as follows : 

Solomon Juneau. 
D. A. J. Upham. 

H. N. Wells 5 

James H. Rogers,. . . 2 

"John H. Tweedy was the Whig candidate, but the Dem- 
ocracy was in the majority in Milwaukee and Juneau was 
elected. Although he served consistently as mayor, he was 
not a parliamentarian, and presided at only one meeting of 
the Common Council." 



ISt. 


2nd. 


3rd. 


4th. 


3 


11 


12 


14 


10 


1 1 


10 


9 


5 


3 


3 


2 



138 



ADDRESS OF C. A. A. McGEE 

At the; Dedication of the Court of Honor at Mil- 
waukee's Home Coming Celebration. 

(Milwaukee Free Press, Aug. 4, 1909.) 

To the east of us, on the brow of the bluff, wrapped in 
the ceaseless music of Michigan's waters, stands the figure 
of a man. By day and by night, he keeps his silent vigils 
over our city. Fashioned in bronze, his gigantic form 
challenges the immediate attention of the spectator. Behold 
him, ye 400,000 sons and daughters of Milwaukee ; shoulders 
strong to bear the brunt of battle, to carry the burdens and 
responsibilities of his people ; the kindly countenance, 
crowned by a broad expanse of brow ; the wide set, com- 
manding eyes ; the straight nose ; the granite chin ; the 
mouth which at once bespeaks firmness and the tender sym- 
pathy of a child ; and, reaching across the gulf of half a 
century, salute him, that golden-hearted pioneer, the founder 
of your city. 

On this festive occasion of our home-coming, let us per- 
mit our thoughts to revert to the days when wilderness wa- 
king, to the days of the Northwest territory ; let us invoke 
the spirit of Juneau, and cause that bronze statue to become 
instinct with life, compel the soul to live again, the heart to 
beat, the brain to quicken, the eye to Hash, and the lips to 
speak, that we may hear his message and receive his bene- 
diction. 

139 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Born out of the loins of France, Laurent Solomon 
Juneau, on the 9th day of August, 1793, first opened his 
eyes upon the broad valley of the St. Lawrence in the hamlet 
of L'Asumption, Canada. At the age of 21, urged by the 
mystery of the unexplored wilds, he took to his canoe, and, 
singing the songs of the voyagers, followed the course of 
Father Jacques Marquette, by river and by land, to the Isle of 
Mackinaw. Here he met that picturesque old trader, Jacque 
Vieau, who took the young man to his heart and introduced 
him to his home at the old British fort at Green Bay. 

Vieau, being a shrewd judge of human nature, quickly 
discerned those attributes of mind and body which so emi- 
nently fitted Juneau for the part he was to play in the 
settlement of the frontier, and induced the younger man to 
enter his service, and sent him on a voyage of inspection. 
Thus, after a journey fraught with peril, through the track- 
less forests of the uncharted waters of Wisconsin, in the 
fall of 1814, Solomon Juneau first ascended the bluff at the 
lake and looked out upon the Venetian bay of America. 
Turning to the westward his eyes for the first time surveyed 
the valley reaching to the river, and the wild rice marshes 
and the wooded heights beyond. 

Historians may differ as to the thoughts that crowded 
upon the mind of the young frontiersman at that hour, but 
the rapid sequence of events proves that even then, master 
of the wilderness and unskilled in the ways of cities, he saw 
the commercial possibilities of this post. Scarcely four 
years later he returned, and as the representative of John 

140 



ADDRESS OF C. A. A. McGEE 

Jacob Astor, the great American fur trader, here, by the 
sparkling waters of Milwaukee's streams, unmuddied and 
unsullied by the sewage of civilization, in this temple of God 
where the wild beauties of nature were unmarred by the 
hand of man, young Juneau took up his permanent abode. 

LaFramboise, and others, may have preceded him as 
traders, but to Solomon Juneau belongs the distinction of 
being the first permanent white settler, the pioneer citizen of 
Milwaukee. 

In his 27th year, he mated with Josette Vieau, that gentle 
maid of the frontier, with whose five-eighths French blood 
mingled that of the chieftains of the forest, and, together 
with this Pocahontas of Wisconsin, Juneau builded, from 
rough hewn logs, the now historic first habitation of the 
white man. 

At a time when the intrigue and perfidy of the French- 
man, Englishman and American, alike, had aroused the 
hostility of the savages to fever heat; at a time when Indian 
outbreaks were common and frontiers were ravished, Solo- 
mon Juneau, with his own splendid physical prowess and 
intrepid spirit, than whom none were swifter in the race 
or more enduring on the march, met these children of the 
soil, not with arms and force, but with the pipe of peace, 
with open-hearted generosity, frankness, friendship, and 
square dealing, until the name of "Friend Solomon," as the 
Indians loved to call him, became a synonym of all that was 
best in savage conception and acted as a talisman to guaran- 
tee the safety of the forest trail and the frontier settlement. 
141 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

His dominance over the Indian tribes, over Menomonee, 
Pottawattomie, Winnebago, Sacs, and Fox, alike, marked 
him as a man of the hour, and caused historians to say of 
him that no trader on the continent did so much to win the 
confidence and respect of the red man and to turn him from 
the pursuits of the wilderness to those of civilization and 
Christianity as did the young Frenchman from the St. Law- 
rence. 

Thus it was that in 1834 conditions invited the advance 
guard of that immigration which, from the four corners of 
the earth, has continued unbroken to the present day, and 
which has made us the mighty metropolis of a great cosmo- 
politan state. 

Knowing that his destinies were cast with the citizenship 
of the infant republic, Solomon Juneau, in 183 1, renounced 
his allegiance to a foreign potentate, and became a natural- 
ized citizen of the states. 

In 1835 he purchased from the federal government a 
tract of land with a frontage of one mile upon the river, 
north from what is now Wisconsin street, and reaching to 
the lake, which, together with his partners, Martin and 
Dousman, he platted into lots, and thus laid at that early 
day the first permanent foundation for his future city beauti- 
ful of the lakes. 

Though modest to the point of retirement, his energies 

were enlisted in all fields of activity, and, in turn, he was 

honored by being made first president of the village, first 

postmaster, and, in April, 1846, after Juneautown, or Mil- 

142 



ADDRESS OF C. A. A. McGEE 

vvaukee, on the east side of the river, Kilbourntown on the 
west, and Walker's Point on the south, voted to consolidate 
as a city, and receiving a charter, Solomon Juneau was again 
honored by being nominated and elected on the Democratic 
ticket as first mayor of Milwaukee, carrying every one of 
the five wards against his Whig opponent, J. H. Tweedy. 

Oh, what a life was his, crowded with events, marked 
with acts of charity, humanity and public spirit. Like a 
rainbow reaching across the sky, its arches the span of a 
century from his humble birthplace in the Valley of Ro- 
mance to the present hour in the city of his dreams, and, 
like the rainbow, which reflects in per f est harmony all the 
beauties of the prism, so his life reflects in turn, all the stern 
and gentle qualities, all the charities, humanities, and emo- 
tions which made that life worth the living and endears his 
name to posterity. 

And you ask me for his message. Read it in a life's 
work well accomplished. 

While we quibble about park extensions, he gave, and 
out of the bounty of his generous heart the city has, the 
Fourth Ward and Juneau park. His message is, live for the 
better and broader things of life; give to our people breath- 
ing spots ; extend, embellish and complete our park system. 

While we hesitate about building for the future and 
establishing a civic center, he built the old court house, 
and, together with the land upon which it stood, and the 
square fronting it, presented it to the county, a demonstra- 

143 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

tion of his public spirit, a monument of his reverence for 
order, law and justice. 

While we talk about greater Milwaukee and seek to en- 
list public aid, he gave land for churches and for schools, 
dedicating the sites upon which stood the old female college 
and St. Peter's church. He furnished the money, on a 
letter of credit, to Mr. O'Rourke, who founded the Milwau- 
kee Sentinel, and his message is, be patriotic and grow, 
keep abreast of the times; give to the world the best you 
have and the best will come back to you. 

While we hesitate about harbor improvements and ex- 
tending the lines of commerce, he built the first vessel, owned 
the first steamboat, and, together with such men as Kilbourn, 
Wells and Walker, connected by a straight cut the river 
with the lake. I quote you from his inaugural address : 

"Our commercial interests should receive a proper share 
of your attention and every facility should be afforded those 
engaged in commercial business to transact the same in a 
prompt and efficient manner, and nothing should be wanting 
on the part of the city to render the whole of the commercial 
part easy of access to the vessels navigating our lakes. 

"Proper measure should be taken to render easy of ac- 
cess our city to every part of the country around us." 

His message is, forget not your community of interest 
as a people, be true to your trust, and place ever the public 
weal above the sordid ambition of the individual. 

While some of us today spend our time in decrying civic 
institutions, and saying how bad are our politics and poli- 
144 



ADDRESS OF C. A. A. McGEE 

ticians, without exercising our heaven-born right of free 
citizenship, Solomon Juneau, from his busy life, took time 
to serve his city and his state, and in the manner of his 
death, speaks to us with mute eloquence on the duties ot 
citizenship. 

In the fall of 1856, he traversed the long rough forest 
trail from Milwaukee to the Shawano agency. While there, 
closing out his business with the Menominee Indians, the 
day of the presidential election dawned dark and cold, and 
though complaining of fatigue and weariness, and against 
the importunities of his friends, for twelve miles, over 
corduroy roads, under the wet dripping pines, he rode in a 
lumber wagon to cast his ballot for the candidate of his 
choice. It was ordained that this should be his last act of 
fealty to the government of his adoption, for, by reason of 
his exposure, he contracted a fatal malady. He met the 
crisis with a strong man's fortitude and resignation, and 
with the light of heaven mantling his countenance, he crossed 
his hands upon his breast and said: "It is hard to die here. 
I had hoped to have laid my bones in Milwaukee, but I come 
to join thee my wife." 

He was mourned alike by red and white. No more im- 
posing funeral cortege was ever known in the wilds of 
America. The chieftains called their braves in council to 
pay the last sad tribute to the departed brother, and to his 
grave marched priests in canonicals, followed by an Indian 
choir chanting funeral psalms ; ten pallbearers, four white 
and six Indians, followed by the employes of the agency, 

145 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

male and female, while to the rear, two abreast, marched an 
army of 700 red men. Here he rested, mourned by red 
and white, man and child, alike, as benefactor, patriot, 
friend and brother, until two weeks later, when his body 
was disinterred, and a sorrowing city laid him to rest in the 
old Spring street cemetery. 

And tonight, across the years, comes the voice of Solo- 
mon Juneau, admonishing us that if ours is to fight the fate 
of republics, no less confident in the past, it must be by 
virtue of an alert and militant citizenship; that the greatest 
menace to any republican form of government is the political 
shirk, that man who, through laziness or indifference to the 
needs of state, never takes time from his business, profes- 
sional or social duties, to participate in the battle of ballots, 
which with each recurrence, determines the policy of our 
government, and, in a large measure, the future of our 
country. 

For humanity, not for self. To those of us, narrow and 
self-centered, who worship mammon and strive for material 
gain alone, I point to the incidents of his life. At a time 
when Carnegies, Morgans, Harrimans and Rockefellers, 
were unknown, he accumulated a fortune in land and money, 
and died without wealth. He nurtured his city like a mother 
the babe upon her breast, and no public enterprise, private 
charity, or case of individual destitution, ever appealed to 
him in vain. He sowed with a lavish hand and cast his 
bread upon the waters. Into the discord of material strife 
he breathed the soft sweet harmony of the golden rule, and 
146 



ADDRESS OF C. A. A. McGEE 

taught that man's greatest good is found in the service of his 
fellows. 

His message, then, is that only those characters are 
potent for good, and only those institutions endure to pos- 
terity which labor not for self alone, but for humanity. 
Rich indeed, if needs be, is that man who dies without 
wealth as the world counts wealth, wrapped only in the 
cloak of public esteem. 

In closing, I quote you from his valedictory on the occa- 
sion of the installation of his successor as mayor : 

"When I first set foot on this soil some thirty years ago, 
I little thought that during my age and generation I should 
now behold such a site as now presents itself. Then the 
red man was supreme monarch of the place on which our 
delightful city now stands ; the plains and rivers of Wiscon- 
sin belonged to him, and were subject to his wild control, but 
now the scene has changed ; the war-whoop of the Indian 
has given way to the mild counsel of civilized and intelligent 
men ; the wigwam is supplanted by the massive and orna- 
mental structures. The place of the bark canoe, which was 
then the only craft that floated upon the waters of the noble 
river that meanders through the heart of your city, has been 
filled with hundreds of vessels propelled by wind and steam 
that now annually visit our shores and enter our harbor, 
laden with the commerce of the east, and bear off the surplus 
product of Wisconsin. 

Here we behold a city of 12,000 inhabitants, with her 
beautiful streets and walks, her fine gardens and splendid 

H7 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

buildings, and her enterprising and intelligent population, 
where eleven years since the soil was unbroken. 

I have been a resident of your city from its first com- 
mencement to the present day, and trust, gentlemen, that 
you will do me the justice to believe that its interest, growth 
and prosperity have ever been and still are my dearest 
desire; that it may continue to increase in size and popula- 
tion is my sincerest wish ; that we may have wholesome laws 
and the same well administered, will be my earnest prayer 
when I shall have retired from the honorable and responsible 
station to which the partiality of my fellow citizens have 
elevated me." 

Who, hearing these earnest words, and looking out over 
our splendid city, with its happy homes, busy factories and 
beautiful parks, recognizing those things accomplished and 
hoping for those things yet to be accomplished, can doubt 
that the spirit of Solomon Juneau is with us tonight, pro- 
nouncing upon his people and upon his city a blessing and 
a benediction. 



AN INTERESTING LETTER. 

Taycheedah, November 23d, 1856. 
Wm. E. Cramer — 

Dear Sir: — My business led me to Keshena, (the Me- 
nominee Pay Ground), from which I returned a day or two 
since, having been absent from home six instead of two 
weeks. The money was not there. Indians move slowly; 

148 



AN INTERESTING LETTER 

and I must say, the delays of their White Fathers are not 
quite as exemplary. 

The time, however, passed pleasantly. Gentlemen were 
there from different parts of the State, on business or 
pleasure — all exerting their fancies, to make each one as 
comfortable as possible. 

It was generally understood, that this was to be the best 
specimen of "Indian payment as of the olden time," to occur 
in this state ; and so, as well as we could, we revived the 
memories of the few old voyageurs and trappers who were 
present, "making them fight their battles over again," and 
when a difference in fact or date arose, and words ran high 
between old Augustin Grignon, Jacques Porlier, and the 
other heroes of the hour, an appeal to an old Chippewa 
and his Squaw, venerable by a century each, usually calmed 
these angry oracles of traditionary lore. 

We had stories and legends of the Great North-West, 
American and Hudson Bay Co.'s and fairly could see the 
old Magnates as they feasted and rollicked in their annual 
progress to their different clerks and trading posts. But 
Alas ! and alas ! ! we had no libation to celebrate the memory 
of their wine and wassail. Mr. Hunkins was inexorable — 
to say nothing of the hourly expected advent of the Super- 
intendent, that sworn foe of fire-water upon the pay-ground. 

I have preserved some recollections of what was said and 

done at the last of the gathering of the old traders, which, 

if you choose, I will send you for publication in a few days. 

Some incidents may amuse you and your readers. I prefer 

149 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

now to say something of the illness and death of our friend, 
Solomon Juneau. 

The truth is, Mr. Juneau was too old to encounter the 
cold and hard fare he endured for days and weeks. His 
age, (sixty-four, and 1 not sixty-six as published), had begun 
to reflect the toils of his youth. His strength and vigor, as 
he frequently told me, had, of late years, gradually given 
way, unfitting him for Indian trade and maturing his pur- 
pose to return to Milwaukee, and his friends, at an early 
date. His chief pride was in the city, and certainly his 
affections were mostly there. The day before his death, 
expressing a desire to be in Milwaukee, and referring to 
many of his old friends by name, he observed, "I do not 
think, I have an enemy in that place." 

He evinced great anxiety in the result of the Presidential 
election, and rode over bad roads, and in a lumber wagon, 
twelve miles to deposit his vote. The clay was inclement. 
He returned fatigued and wet, and was not well afterwards. 
The Menominee payment was made two days before his 
death. From dawn to midnight, of each day, he was har- 
rassed by the Indians, while engaged in making collections, 
and superintending the sales of his two establishments and 
in retiring to his bunk, which was adjacent to my own, on 
Wednesday night, declared himself overcome by fatigue. 
He arose early on Thursday morning, however, aroused his 
clerks for business, and appeared animated and cheerful in 
the prospect we both had of a speedy return to our families. 
Tn a very few moments, he suddenly complained of great 

150 



AN INTERESTING LETTER 

uneasiness ; attempting violently and in vain to relieve his 
stomach. Paroxysms of pain supervened, and his tortures 
were expressed in groans of agony, and streams of sweat 
bursting and pouring from his face. We removed him, as 
soon as a bed could be procured, to the house of Mr. 
Prickett, and surrounded him with every comfort and atten- 
tion within our power. The Superintendent, Dr. Huebsch- 
mann, directed and applied the proper remedies by himself 
and Dr. Wiley, exhibiting the most kind and anxious care. 
But in a few hours, the vanity of hope and effort was ap- 
parent. The stubborn intensity of his malady defied the 
devotions of skill and affection, and it became evident, that 
the strong frame of our friend was yielding to the shocks 
of his last and only enemy. 

He repeatedly enquired of his friends their opinion of 
his case; whose replies were cheering appeals to his courage 
and constancy. They could not bear to contemplate their 
own impressions of his danger — and how could they convey 
them to him? 

About 4 o'clock the priest was introduced, and being left 
together alone, at his own solicitation, the last consoling rites 
of his church, it is presumed, were administered. The type 
of his malady became milder at intervals. His reason, which 
had never forsaken him, became active in directing a dispo- 
sition of his property on the Pay Ground, and in dictating 
messages of love to his children. 

Turning to me he observed: "It is hard to die here; I 
had hoped to lay my bones in Milwaukee ;" and immediately 

I5i 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

afterwards directing his eyes aloft, and crossing his hands 
upon his breast, with a sigh of profound and peaceful 
languor, he breathed — "I come to join you my wife!" 

The slumbers of syncope supervened, as the night moved 
on ; and at 20 minutes past 2 o'clock a. m., Solomon Juneau 
breathed his last, in the arms of Benjamin Hunkins, his 
faithful friend and constant nurse. Thus died a just and 
good man. Everybody who knew, loved him ; and so I will 
not eulogize his memory. 

Perhaps no trader ever lived on this continent, for whom 
the Indians entertained a more profound respect. The grim 
warrior, with stately tread and blackened face, and silent, 
bending squaw, passed in review the corpse of their dead 
friend — and the chiefs in solemn council, summoned their 
braves to attend the funeral. — "Never — said old Augustin 
Grignon — have I heard of this before." 

Many instances occurred of individual homage. In the 
middle of the night, an old squaw of decent appearance — the 
wife of a chief — entered the apartment, and kneeling before 
the body, clasped her hands in silent prayer ; then removing 
the cloth from his face, impressed her kisses upon his mouth 
and forehead, and retired as noiselessly as she had entered. 
Another clipped a lock of his hair, and charged me to deliver 
it to his children. These poor women were Catholics. 

The place of repose was selected by the Indians them- 
selves, and the order of his funeral entrusted to Mr. Hun- 
kins. 



152 



AN INTERESTING LETTER 
Order of the Funeral. 

ist. Priest in canonicals, followed by an Indian choir, 

chanting funeral forms. 
2nd. Ten pall-bearers, four whites and six Indians, 

(Oshkosh, Carron, Lancet. Keshenah and 

others). 
3d. The employes of the agency, male and female. 
4th. Indian women, and Indians, two abreast, to the 

number of 600 or 700. 

Appropriate services were rendered at the grave by the 
priest, and a few affectionate sentences of farewell in- 
terpreted to the Indians, at their request, were expressed by 
the Agent. 

Solomon Juneau sleeps upon an elevation far above the 
Agency, and council house, and burial grounds of the In- 
dians, commanding a view of the "Wolf," as it defiles away 
in the wilderness of distant hills, and overlooking the hunt- 
ing grounds which, in years gone by, he had known and 
traversed himself, for many a league. 

Milwaukee should do something in honor of its first 
Mayor and best citizen. 

I enclose a few lines, written by an old friend, (a lady,) 
when informed of his death. 

Yours truly, 

B. 



153 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

LINES WRITTEN ON THE DEATH OF 
SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

A solemn stillness reigns around, 
Dark forms are bending there 

In silent grief; — no sob or sound 
Disturbs the quiet air. 

Why bows the red-man's lofty head? 

Why is his step so slow? — 
Death hath a fatal arrow sped — 

His long-tried friend lies low. 

O, Manitou! why didst thou call 

Him to the far-off land? 
To roam the happy hunting grounds. 

And head a spirit-band? 

No more will beat his noble heart 

His generous hand is cold; 
We'll sit no longer at his feet 

In council, as of old. 

And white men's hearts responsive swell 

While gazing on the dead — 
For many loved that sleeper well, 

Whose spirit hence hath fled. 

Each Chief now summons forth his band. 

A man of God is there — 
And floats o'er all the forest land 

The funeral chant and prayer. 

And mournfully that num'rous throng 

Tread o'er the grassy sod, 
With him they knew so well and long — 

"The noblest work of God." 

Upon a lofty spot of ground. 

In nature's beauties drest, 
Place for his manly form they found. 

And laid him down to rest. 

I Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin. November 28, 1856.) 
1 54 



"SOLOMO" 



"SOLOMO." 

The dawn springs slowly thro' the eastern sky, 
It turns the fleecy clouds to isles of gold. 
It strikes the cross on John's Cathedral spire, 
And all the palaces that rise around. 
Then o'er the bosom of Lake Michigan 
The quivering bars of many colored light 
Break into starry tear drops; far away 
The waters murmur to the pebbly shore 
Of something lost that can return no more. 

The rlags droop half-mast en the harboured ships. 

The bells toll solemnly from many a tower, 

The grateful cit> sends her thousands forth 

To pay the last sad tribute to his dust 

Who planted her; for, in one stricken room 

Lies powerless and still a mighty frame. 

That once enclosed a warm and generous heart 

Now heedless of all tears or sobs of woe — 

The voiceless ashes of old "Solomo!" 

'Twas meet that he should- die where swarthy chiefs 
Could gaze upon the face of their tried friend. 
Where silent squaws could through the darkness steal 
To breathe a prayer and kiss his honored head. 
That they should bury him and think him theirs; 
And it was meet that he should here be brought 
For his loved children and the city's sake. 
That he twice honored and twice buried be, 
For here his like we ne'er again shall see. 

Ye men with glittering steel and measured tread! 

He was a soldier, for he was a man: 

Ye men who battle with the element! 

He was like you and dared the elements; 

Ye veteran pioneers of fertile brain 

And iron arm, he was your elder brother. 

Bear ye the body into God's own house — 

Where lately, too, was borne his noble wife — 

Before that altar where he knelt in life! 

There let him rest a space, until the Church 
Reads her appointed prayers above her dead. 
And sprinkles holy water on the pall 

155 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

And burns some grains of blest olibanum, 

And lets the prisoned soul of music burst 

In terror thro' the "Dies Irae" hymn, 

And from the dead unto the living speaks, 

And points with steady fingers 'yond the grave 

Thro' His strong love who came the world to save! 

The rites are paid, the eulogy is said 

The secret prayers for his soul's repose 

Have upward sped on wings of faith and love, 

The lights are out, the long procession moves, 

And strains of mournful music swell and fade 

Upon the air, and flashing in the sun 

Up the far streets the bayonets are seen; 

The nodding hearse, of which he makes a throne. 

Is out of sight — and "Solomo" is gone! 

(Written for the Daily Sentinel, 1856, by B. I. Dorward.) 



FUNERAL OF SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

"Yesterday we laid in the dust the oldest settler of the 
city of Milwaukee, and we trust a few comments on this 
occasion, may not be considered out of place. 

"The description of the form and circumstance of the 
funeral we leave to our contemporaries. We shall content 
ourselves with a brief relation of the facts, and of what 
were our own impressions on the occasion. 

"The procession was a very long one, the military were 
out in full force, as were the firemen. The benevolent and 
civic societies, also, were in the procession, as were likewise 
a great body of our citizens. In short, the people of Mil- 
waukee did their utmost to do honor to the oldest settler of 
the state, Solomon Juneau. And now, allow us to make a 

156 



THE FUNERAL 

few remarks that may be of service to those who follow 
him, and us, in this country. 

"His fame is nothing but that of an honest man, and a 
man of high enterprise, and yet his fame is a great one. 
His history is not an every day story, but yet it is a history 
that every man can make his own. 

"Mr. Juneau came here to trade with the Indians, and 
by his integrity, by his singleness of purpose, he gained their 
confidence and esteem, and opened up a road to the entrance 
of those immigrants who afterward flooded into the terri- 
tory of Wisconsin. What he became after that we all know. 
What facilities he offered to the early settler of Wisconsin, 
we all know as well. But it is not all who know the full 
value of those offerings in a new country. 

"A cup of water had its blessing, and where it was rare, it 
was right it should have. He gave that, but it was known 
that he did more, that he gave of all that he had, not only 
of his abundance, but of his indigence ; that he shared of 
what he had in plenty, and of what he had in little. In other 
words, whatever he had he shared with the newcomer, be he 
who he might. 

"We attended his funeral this day, and Solomon Juneau 
is but a clod of the earth. He is what we all must be. He 
has but returned to the dust from whence he came. But he 
has run his race with honor, and lives in the memory of 
men, as few of us could hope to live there were we to die 
now. 

"But where is his pre-eminence, He was no great man 

157 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

in the vulgar acceptation of the term. True enough he was 
not. His memory does not rest upon deeds of arms. His 
conquest was a different one. He came here as a quiet in- 
dividual, merely to push his own fortune, but in doing that 
he pushed the fortunes of a state. He conquered nothing 
by mere force of arms, but he conquered all by force of 
character and by force of honesty. He went through the 
various phases of Indian, of frontier, and of civilized life, 
and in all he held the highest place ; and even when his In- 
dian Post became a city, he then held the same station, the 
head of all. 

"Yet, Mr. Juneau was an unambitious man ; the honors 
which he wore were forced upon him. They were not of his 
seeking, any more than were those that were conferred upon 

him yesterday." 

J. R. Sharpstein. 

The Daily News, Nov. 29, 1856. 



THE LATE SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

"This morning ushers in an event which cannot fail to 
cast a melancholy gloom over the city, warning us what frail 
creatures we are. In yon stately Cathedral lies coffined all 
that is mortal of one, who may truly be designated The 
FathKr of Milwaukee, the first man who trod the virgin 
soil of Wisconsin, and whose clear foresight marked out 
that spot whose rapid growth has constituted one of the 
wonders of America. We allude to a city, the growth of 

158 



THE FUNERAL 

yesterday, aye, but a few fleeting years since a trading post 
for the whites, with the red men of the forest ; today, the 
city of Milwaukee with its 40,000 inhabitants. We had not 
the pleasure of his personal acquaintance, but the compan- 
ions and friends of Solomon Juneau speak of him as a 
man of unimpeachable integrity, sterling worth and generous 
impulses. His various gifts to the city have proven this. 

"A good name is better than precious unction." 
and the day of death better than the day of one's birth. 
Mr. Juneau was in the prime of life, and whilst among the 
children of the forest, the men whom he loved best, for 
their simplicity of manner, and from his early association 
with them, was stricken down and in a truly short period his 
spirit fled from its earthly tenement and winged its way 
to heaven. "Rcqiticscat in Pace." 

"This morning the funeral solemnities take place. Al- 
though the lamented deceased was not connected with the 
militia of our state, "the muffled drum and funeral note" 
will be heard from the military escort, which does itself 
honor in paying the last sad tribute to the illustrious dead 
of the State, and Milwaukee, the child of his protection and 
fostering care, will exhibit her deep sorrow and grief for 
the good man who has departed. Let us hope, most earn- 
estly hope, that our bankers, merchants and traders, will, 
on this solemn occasion, close all places of business for the 
two or three hours occupied in the funeral obsequies. An- 
other suggestion we venture to throw out — it has been 
mooted that the city of Milwaukee should perpetuate the 

159 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

many virtues and generous gifts made by Mr. Juneau to the 

city in her infancy, by raising a monument to his memory. 

"Cold in the dust, this perished heart may lie, 
But that which warmed it once shall never die." 

"This monument will be acquiesced in by all classes. We 
understand that the Court House square was one amongst 
the munificent gifts of this generous donor, and no spot 
could be selected in the entire city where a statuary monu- 
ment could look more imposing than in the center of the 
square. Boston has just inaugurated her statute of Frank- 
lin ; let Milwaukee imitate the act by having her statue of 
"Juneau" the father of the city. A monument, imperishable, 
which will perpetuate the character and memory of one 
whose removal is a source of deep regret to the entire com- 
munity." 

"Virtue's a solid rock, whereat being aimed, 
The keenest darts of envy, yet unhurt, 
Her marble hero stands, built of such basis, 
While they recoil and wound the shooter's face." 

(From A. Wellington Hart's Dollar American Weekly, 1856.) 



FUNERAL OF THE LATE SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

"Yesterday the remains of this lamented gentleman were 
consigned to the dust in the Roman Catholic cemetery. At 
an early hour the stores along East Water street commenced 
draping the fronts of the premises with emblems of mourn- 
ing. At 10 o'clock the Military and Fire companies formed 
on Main street, and with the Pioneers of Wisconsin, and 
160 



THE FUNERAL 

one or two benevolent societies, marched to the residence of 
Henry Kirk White, Esq., on Division street, where the body 
lay. General Grant acted as Grand Marshal, previous to 
the solemnities, and when the funeral procession was 
formed, took command of the troops, who mustered in good 
numbers. The Milwaukee Light Guards, Union Guards, 
German Yagers, two companies of the Rifle Corps, the 
Artillery company, and the Sons of Freedom, with the 
Washington Corps of Cavalry, formed the military escort. 
Moving up Division to Jackson street, headed by the respec- 
tive bands, playing a solemn dirge, the procession reached 
the Cathedral, where the body was placed on the catafalque, 
the solemn services being chanted by the choir; the prayers 
for the dead being read by the venerable Roman Catholic 
Bishop Henni. in a solemn manner. The Cathedral was 
crowded to its utmost extent, the ladies rilling all the pews 
on the north side, the mourners and attendants at the 
funeral, with the Mayor, ex-Mayors and Common Council, 
occupying the middle aisle. As soon as the body was placed 
on its bier, the citizens thronged in, and within a few minutes 
every remaining seat was filled, and all was hushed, and a 
solemn stillness chained the congregation. As soon as the 
funeral chant had been given by the choir, the Rev. Riordan, 
the Secretary of Bishop Henni, ascended the pulpit and 
preached a funeral eulogium to the memory of the de- 
parted Pioneer. His text was from St. Paul's epistle to the 
Corinthians. He pointed out the shadows of this life, the 
little thought of concern for that great change which awaits 

161 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

us, and marked the current of events which awaited man in 
this mundane existence till the close of life, when the same 
lot would befall us, as we now saw in the corpse awaiting 
burial. Mr. Riordan then delivered a panegyric on the life 
of him, whose body touched by death, was then receiving 
in that Cathedral the homage, reverence and respect of the 
entire city. He dwelt on his virtues, his piety, the claims on 
his unbounded charity — which were ever kindly met — his 
love for his family, his generous impulses, his noble at- 
tributes, all were dwelt on in language as inspiring and 
eloquent as it was simple, pure and truthful. We cannot 
do justice to the theme so brilliantly treated as it was by the 
Reverend gentleman, whose fine voice and purity of delivery 
permitted every word he dropped from his lips to be heard 
at the furtherest recesses of the noble Cathedral in which 
the services were conducted. Many a tear drop paid silent 
tribute to the excellence of his discourse, and few could 
listen to it without agitation or a deep impression of its 
worth and beauty. No occasion has ever presented itself 
in this state or city, where the death of any man has proven 
so deeply the grief, sorrow and emotion as at the obsequies 
of "Solomon Juneau." 'Twas he who marked out the 
fortunes and prosperity of Milwaukee's children. He was 
the man who selected the spot which has become his im- 
perishable monument. His generosity, unbounded as it was, 
ever extended by him to the needy, for his charity was not 
strained, but like its sister, Mercy. 

(The Dollar Weekly American. A. Wellington Hart, Prop., 1856.) 
l62 



THE FUNERAL 
THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 

"The people of Milwaukee did honor yesterday to the 
memory of the late Solomon Juneau, the founder of their 
city. Here, where he was the only white man a little more 
than twenty years ago, thousands of people, representing all 
classes, professions and avocations, in a population of over 
forty thousand, turned out to testify their respect to his 
memory. 

"The flags of the shipping in port and of the public build- 
ings were at half-mast during the day, and East Water 
street from Mason to Huron street and Spring street for 
two blocks from the west end of the bridge were draped 
in mourning, festoons of black and white hanging from the 
windows, and crossing the street in several instances. 

"The weather had moderated so far as to thaw the frozen 
streets placing them in a very unpleasant condition for 
pedestrians in the procession. St. John's Cathedral, where 
the funeral services were to be performed, was opened at 
10:30 a. m. for ladies only, and the space reserved for them 
was speedily filled, while vast numbers were unable to find 
admission. The bells of the court house and several 
churches commenced tolling at 10:30 a. m. at which time the 
Procession 

was about forming. The various military and fire com- 
panies and civic associations assembled on Main street from 
Oneida to Mason, and the sidewalks in the vicinity were 
crowded with a dense mass of people, numbering by thou- 

163 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

sands. The procession moved from the rendezvous to the 
residence of H. K. White, Esq., son-in-law of the deceased, 
where the body, enclosed in a metallic burial case, was 
received into the hearse, the pall-bearers took their places 
by its side, and the family and their friends entered the car- 
riages provided. From thence the procession moved to the 
Cathedral in the following order : 

Military. 

"Milwaukee Light Guards, preceded by the North- 
western Band, with appropriate music; Carroll Guards, 
Milwaukee Rifles, Green Yagers, Black Yagers, Artillery 
Co., Dragoons. 

Firemen. 

"Batallion Band, Chief Engineer and ex-Chief Engineers, 
Hook and Ladder No. i, Milwaukee Engine Co. No. I, 
Neptune Engine Co. No. 2, Oregon Engine Co. No. 3, 
Rough and Ready Engine Co. No. 4, Ocean Engine Co. No. 
5, Fillmore Engine Co. No. 6. 

The Hearse, 
with 26 of our oldest citizens as pall-bearers, carriages con- 
taining the family and friends, 

Band. 
"Pius Benevolent Society, Common Council, Members of 
the Bar, Citizens. 

"The head of the procession having arrived at the Cathe- 
dral, a halt was made, and the military and fire companies 
164 



THE FUNERAL 

opened right and left, allowing the hearse and carriages to 
pass through the line, the members of the fire companies 
uncovering as they passed. The order of entering the 
Cathedral by those in the procession, was not strictly main- 
tained after the coffin had been received within, and some 
degree of confusion ensued, but the vast building was soon 
crowded with people and the services proceeded promptly. 

"After the religious services, an eloquent address was 
delivered by Rev. Riordan, one of the most graceful and 
fluent of pulpit orators in the country. His eulogy of the 
honest and noble character of the deceased commended itself 
to the hearts of many in that vast audience, who knew him 
well. 

"The procession was formed again in the same order as 
above, (a carriage containing the clergyman officiating, 
taking its place before the hearse), and moved down Mason 
to East Water street, and up Spring street, to the Roman 
Catholic cemetery near the west limits of the city. Forty- 
six carriages were in the procession as it passed our office, 
containing the Common Council, Pioneer's Society, Members 
of the Bar and others. The line was about 25 minutes 
passing our office, and the sidewalks on both sides of Spring 
street, and the windows and balconies of the buildings were 
crowded with people. As the procession passed up that 
street, there must have been more than ten thousand people 
looking on, who will long remember the solemn ceremonies 
of the day. 

The services at the cemetery being concluded, the pro- 

165 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

cession was again formed, and marched back, the bands 
playing lively airs, to the place of rendezvous, where the 
different companies were dismissed. 

"Thus did our city pay her testimony of respect to the 
memory of its pioneer settler. We trust that measures may 
soon be taken for the erection of a tasteful monument over 
his remains." 

Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin, Nov. 28, 1856. 



1 66 





= B-SS;-f Jin i I 



mllSMm 



HOME OF SOLOMON JUNEAU. 
Erected in 1835, Corner E. Water and Michigan Streets. 



INCIDENTS 

The woodcut of the second Milwaukee home of Solomon 
Juneau, on the corner of East Water and Michigan streets, 
which is one of the embellishments of this book, was made 
originally for James S. Buck. 

Jas. S. Buck, in his Pioneer Hist, of Mil., p. 133. Vol. 1 1.. 
states that he, with old Saukie, a Menomonee chief, "arc 
leaning upon the fence, watching the gambols of the bears, 
as they rolled upon the ground or mounted to the top of 
the posts, which the}- would do, upon an average, about 
every five minutes — a sight that no Milwaukeean will ever 
witness again." 

He also relates the following: 

"There was an incident which occurred in the spring of 
1838. the morning after Scott and Bennett, the murderers 
of the Indian Manitou, had escaped from the old jail, that 
not only illustrated the nature of the Indian, but showed 
the courage of Juneau as well, who, to pacify the Indians at 
the time of the murder, as well as to convince them that 
justice should be done to Scott and Bennett, had given 
security for them, by pledging his own life for theirs, in 
case they escaped. Consequently, no soooner did the Indians 
learn of the escape of Scott and Bennett, than a deputation 
of them, headed by old Saukie himself, went to Juneau's 
house to kill him. 

"Just what happened in the house I do not know, but it 
was not long before the whole part} - came out on the jump, 
169 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

each one apparently anxious to be the first ; and as the last 
one, old Saukie, was passing out, he got a kick from Mr. 
Juneau that lifted him, and as he struck the ground, he 
let out a 'waugh!' after which he 'lit out,' and was soon 
out of sight. There were quite a number who witnessed 
this little episode, as nearly every one in the place was on 
the street, the author among the rest, talking about the 
escape of the murderers, and watching the preparations 
being made by a party headed by Benoni Finch and Owen 
Aldrich, to go in pursuit, which was being done in front of 
what is now 387 East Water street. And for a short time 
things looked a little squally. The Indians were greatly ex- 
cited, and a number of them joined in the pursuit. 

"B. F. Wheelock, who was passing Mr. Juneau's house 
just as the Indians were ejected, says he never saw a more 
determined look upon any man's face than was upon 
Juneau's as he executed that coup-d'etat upon old Saukie, 
while through his clenched teeth came a 'Sacre' that fairly 
hissed. They never tried that game again, though probably 
Mr. Juneau watched them carefully for a season until the 

excitement incident to the affair blew over." 
\ 

Verse written by Jas. S. Buck, in his Pioneer History of 
Milwaukee, Vol. I., p. 32. 

"Juneau, so fair, and whose wit was so keen, 
Came here in the year eighteen hundred and eighteen; 
An Indian trader of fame and renown, 
Lived on the east side, called Juneau Town; 
And in fact, was the king of the place. 
So manly and bold, with a dark hazel eye; 
Always told you the truth, and never a lie: 
This pioneer man of his race." 

170 



INCIDENTS 

The Hon. Judge Geo. W. Lawe, founder of Kaukauna, 
who was a life-long friend of Solomon Juneau and his 
family, says of Mr. Juneau : 

"1 first saw Juneau in Green Bay when 1 was a boy and 
Juneau a handsome young man. 

"1 remember." said the judge, "he came riding up to my 
father's house in Green Bay to get supplies to take to Mil- 
waukee. Jacques Yiean had a trading post at Milwaukee 
and Juneau worked for him. Yieau used to send him with 
pack horses to Green Bay, from which place my father used 
to send supplies to the whole of what was then the North- 
west, and that was how I came to see him. He was a very 
handsome man and I said to my father as he rode up to our 
door, 'That is the finest-looking man I ever saw,' and my 
father said to me. 'Yes, and he is one of the best.' I remem- 
ber that conversation well, though 1 was only a boy. and 1 
can remember farther back than that. After that I saw him 
a great many times at my father's house and in Milwaukee. 
He was a very well-educated man, that is in French." 

The judge's first visit to Milwaukee was in 1834. He 
had been on a trading trip to Chicago. On the way down he 
had taken the trail leading west of Milwaukee and had not 
stopped to see Juneau, but he planned the return trip so as 
to strike the future metropolis. He remained with Juneau 
three days, during which time he walked over the site of 
the city, discussing with its founder the prospect of its grow- 
ing to respectable size. In that connection he makes the 
very interesting and historically valuable observation that 

171 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

even at that early day Juneau believed that his trading post 
was to be the beginning of a big city, though it was then the 
only structure here except Albert Fowler's house on the 
opposite side of the river. 

"Juneau took me over to the lake and showed me all 
around," said the judge, talking about his visit, "And he 
talked a good deal about the big city he was going to have 
some day. He said to me : 'George, you ought to come to 
Milwaukee to live, this is going to be a big town.' I laughed 
at him and said : 'I can't do that ; I must stay at Green Bay 
to help my father.' Then there was only Juneau's house and 
another that a man named Fowler had built on the other 
side of the river. Fowler had built his house on the low 
ground, almost in the water, and I wondered what he had 
done that for. I spoke to Juneau about it and he said it 
would be filled up some day when they got a big city there. 
I said : 'I guess you can't build much of a city in that hole on 
the other side of the river,' and he said : 'Oh, that will all be 
filled up some day.' He was sure there was going to be a big 
city there." — Interview with Judge Geo. W. Lavve. printed 
in the Evening Wisconsin, April 27, 1895. 



172 



INCIDENTS 

OLD SETTLER FRIENDSHIP. 

Affection of thf Pionefrs for Solomon Juneau. — 

Touching Tribute. 

Extract from the proceedings at an early banquet of the 
Old Settlers' Club : 

"J- H. Tweedy paid a beautiful tribute to Solomon 
Juneau. Mr. Tweedy's remarks brought out many expres- 
sions by old settlers and they all spoke enthusiastically and 
lovingly of Milwaukee's first white citizen. Ex-mayor W. 
A. Prentiss said he wanted to speak a word in relation to Mr. 
Juneau. He then told of his having driven from a far 
distant state to Wisconsin, having first sent a stock of goods 
by lake. When reaching here there were no vacant stores 
and it was necessary for him to put up a building. He 
called upon Mr. Juneau, who had a lumber yard, and Juneau 
said, 'there is my lumber yard, go and help yourself; take 
what you want and settle for it after the store is up.' We 
commenced work upon the building Monday morning and 
Saturday night we had it up ready for occupancy. Then I 
went to Mr. Juneau and told him I was ready to pay my 
bill, and asked him how much it was. He said, 'I don't know 
how much it is ; you just pay me what you think is right.' 
That was the way with Solomon Juneau. He was the 
largest-hearted, grandest man I ever knew. One day Mr. 
Juneau stopped me on the street and said, 'I had a surprise 
this morning. I looked into my desk and found $1600 in 
bills. Don't know how it got there, nor who it came from.' 
He never found out where it came from." — Taken from a 
number of clippings loaned by Mr. Henry W. Bleyer, of 
Madison, Wis., Historian of the Milwaukee Old Settlers' 
Club. 

*73 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 
AN INTERESTING SUGGESTION. 

(Milwaukee Sentinel, Nov. 26, 1856.) 

It has been suggested to us that no city the size of Mil- 
waukee ever before witnessed the funeral rites of its foun- 
der. We are inclined to believe that no founder of a city 
ever lived to behold what Mr. Juneau has seen in the growth 
of Milwaukee, and that too, within the brief space of thirty- 
eight years. 

He came here in a state of fully developed manhood, was 
the first white settler on the site of Milwaukee, died at the 
age of sixty-four, and was followed to the tomb by six 
thousand of the inhabitants of the city which now contains 
a population of forty thousand, nearly all of whom have 
resided here less than one-third of the number of years 
which he passed in it. — We should not be surprised to find 
that this is without a parallel in the history of cities and their 
founders. 



TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN HIS HAT. 

A. F. Pratt, in his contributions to the State Historical 
Collections, says : 

"The land craze of 1836, made Mr. Juneau wealthy. 
About this time he was worth $100,000, with a fair prospect 
of doubling the amount by the rise of land. I have often 
seen him in those days go into his store after business hours 
were over, and take from the drawers the money that his 
clerks had received during the day for goods and lots, 

'74 



INCIDENTS 

amounting often to $8,000 and $10,000, and put it loose in 
his hat. Upon one occasion I recollect of his hat being 
knocked off in a playful crowd, when $10,000 flew in 
various directions. Money seemed to be of no earthly use 
to him. If a man called upon him to subscribe for a public 
improvement or a charitable object, whatever was required, 
he subscribed, without asking why or wherefore. In the 
meantime he had looked on and seen others get rich on the 
rise of property he had sold, and he commenced buying back 
lots and paying thousands for what he had previously sold 
for hundreds. He had implicit confidence in everybody." 



CURIOUS JUNEAU RELIC. 

County Clerk Phelps discovered a curious old Juneau 
relic in the vault of his office. It is an account book of 
Solomon Juneau, showing the record of the construction of 
the early county roads and their respective surveys. 

The name of Solomon Juneau appears as public com- 
missioner of highways on the first page. His first work was 
the construction of the old Chicago road, now known as 
First avenue, and the bridging of the Kinnickinnic river. 
The book also shows the construction of the roads into the 
interior of the county. Many of them were laid out on the 
lines of the Indian trails, with which Mr. Juneau was 
familiar. 

The first few years his name appears as commissioner of 
highways, and then it is mentioned in a committee called the 

175 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

viewers. The first record signed is dated December 2, 1836, 
and the last date is January 28, 1840. 

Among the names prominent in the volume are those of I. 
A. Lapham, deputy district engineer; Byron Kilbourn, B. 
W. Finch, Garrett Vliet, I. C. Loomis and Silas Griffith." 

Newspaper clipping loaned by Mr. H. W. Bleyer, Madison, Wis. 



TRIED TO ARREST SOLOMON JUNEAU. 

(Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin, 1901.) 

"An old document bringing to light a long forgotten in- 
cident in early Milwaukee history, was unearthed in the 
government office at Madison the other day. It was a 
remonstrance against the honoring of a requisition from 
New York for the arrest of Solomon Juneau. Old residents 
may remember that the founder of the city was once in 
danger of arrest for the serious offense of stealing a ship, 
but it will be a bit of interesting news to later generations 
of Milwaukeeans. It seems, from the contents of the 
remonstrance, that Mr. Juneau and some others who are not 
named, had had a controversy over the ('Steam Boat Mil- 
waukee'), with certain claimants at Buffalo, N. Y., and some 
time previous to the filing of the remonstrance the Milwau- 
kee men had gained possession and run the steamer to 
Milwaukee. For that act indictments had been made upon 
Gov. Doty. The business men of Milwaukee had sent a long 
remonstrance against the granting of the requisition and that 
paper came to light in the course of the work of indexing 
the contents of the vault in the executive office. 
176 



INCIDENTS 

"It is stained with age, but is still readable. It bears 
date of September 18, 1841, and has signers enough to make 
a very respectable petition, even as petitions go nowadays. 
It covers four pages of foolscap paper, the first page and a 
half being filled with a recital of the case and the balance 
with the names of the signers in a double column. The 
signers number about two hundred and among them are all 
the prominent men of those days, including: A. Finch, Jr., 
E. Cramer, Elisha Starr, H. N. Wells, Talbot C. Dousman, 
h. J. Farwell, Lindsey Ward, Smith Arnold, Calvin Trow- 
bridge, J. A. Noonan, George Dousman, Alexander Mitchell, 
W. W. Graham, E. Sanderson, James Holton, John Hustis 
and many others. Though the document is almost sixty 
years old at least one man whose name appears on it is still 
alive. He is John Hustis, of Hustisford." 



Foot Note — Mrs. F. E. Pond, of Cincinnati, O., a granddaughter of 
Solomon Juneau, has in her possession a mirror and chair from the 
"Steam Boat Milwaukee", which was presented to her mother, Harriet 
Juneau Fox, by the late Capt. Wm. Caswell, of Milwaukee. 

177 



MISCELLANEOUS DATA 

The following is a tax receipt given Solomon Juneau 
December 15th, 1838, by L. M. Weeks, tax collector. The 
receipt is made on a piece of foolscap paper. 

Received of Solomon Juneau, Nine cents county tax on 
Lot No. Two in Block No. one hundred & one ; Nine cents 
county Tax on Lot No. Eleven in Block No. one hundred & 
one. Nine cents County Tax on Lot No. Twelve in Block 
No. One hundred & one. Seven cents on Lot No. Six in 
Block No. One hundred and two East Ward & Five dollars 
and eighty cents on Lot No. seven in Block No. Ffty on the 

west side of the river also fifteen cents on Lot No. 

ten in Block No. Fiftv one. 

L. M. Weeks. 

Collector. 

Milwaukee. December 15th. 1838. 



JUNEAU HOUSE OPENED. 

When the Juneau House. Juneau. Wis., was built in 
1849, by Judge Hiram Barber, Solomon Juneau was one of 
the guests at the banquet given by Mr. Barber on opening 
the house, at which Mr. Juneau presented Mr. Barber with 
a number of oil lamps which were rare in those pioneer 
days, candles furnishing the light at that time. — Dodge 
County History. 

In 1852, a circus showing in Milwaukee, offered a prize 
for solving the following riddle, which was answered by 
Louis Frachere. confidential clerk of Solomon Juneau. 
178 



MISCELLANEOUS DATA 

"Why is Milwaukee one of the most beautiful cities and 
also the most wise?" 

"Solomon founded it, and Juno (Juneau ) shines over it." 

Juneau, Wis., the county seat of Dodge County, was 
named in honor of Solomon Juneau, as was also Juneau 
County. 



OLD LETTER LIST. 



Partial list of letters remaining in the postoffice at Mil- 
waukee, December 31st, 1836, during Solomon Juneau's 
term of office : 



Ackley, Mrs. Jane. 
Atherton, George O., 
Bowman, Henry, 
Blanchard, Joseph, 
Bailey, Joel, 
Brown, Rev. Daniel E., 
Bryant, Zephaniah, 
Burnet, B.. 
Bean. James L.. 
Camp, Henry, 
Cleveland, Alva, 
Carpenter, Morgan, 
Coykendall, B. F., 
Drake, Sam'l, 
David, Susan, 
Doolittle, Lewis, 
Derbyshire, Isabella. 
Davenport, Geo. M., 
Ellsworth, Orlando, 
Fowler. Albert, 



Martin, M., 
McWhorter, George, 
Olin, Nelson, 
Patterson, M., 
Putney, Moses, 
Parker, Asa, 
Phillips, E. D., 
Robinsin, Mr., 
Reer, David, 
Rogers, James H., 
Sweet, Alanson, 
Smith, Uriel, 
Strong & Armsbee, 
Smith, Lowell, 
Thurber, Martin. 
Tuttle, T- E.. 
Thorp, John F., 
Tryon, David, 
Vail, J. S., 
Viele. J. J., 



79 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Fox, Truman, Vinton, Edward, 

Frazer, Sam'l, Warren, Obed Dr., 

Gardner, Rolzamona, White, Ambrose, 

Green, Gen'l Abbott, Wells, J. M., 

Green, Pliny, P., Whorter, McM., 

Hubbell, W., Woodman, Aaron, 

Judd, Thomas, Wheelock, James H., 

Jambo, Jock, (Jacque Yates, Gerome Y., 

Vieaux), Solomon Juneau, P. M. 

Persons calling for the above letters will please say they 

are advertised. — Pioneer Hist, of Milwaukee, Vol. I., pp. 
49-51- 



JUNEAU AND KILBOURN LAND PURCHASES. 

(Milwaukee City Directory, 1847-'48.) 

At the land sale at Green Bay, in July and August, 1835, 
Mr. Juneau purchased the N. E. quarter of Section 29, in 
Town 7, and range 22, on which he resided, and Mr. Kil- 
bourn purchased the S. E. quarter of the same section. 
These two tracts, extending along the Milwaukee river a 
mile in width, constituted the nucleus of the present city of 
Milwaukee. 

The proprietorship was subsequently modified by an 
arrangement between the two purchasers, in accordance with 
which Mr. Kilbourn conveyed to Mr. Juneau that part of the 
S. E. quarter of Section 29, lying east of the river, and Mr. 
Juneau conveyed to Mr. Kilbourn that part of the N. E. 
quarter of the same section lying west of the river. 

Mr. Juneau subsequently added to the original tracts by 
180 



MISCELLANEOUS DATA 

purchases extending eastwardly and southerly towards the 
lake, and Mr. Kilbourn by purchases extending westwardly 
and northerly towards the interior of the state — the entire 
purchases embracing in the aggregate about six hundred 
acres, three hundred of which were owned by Mr. Kilbourn 
and constituted his plat of Milwaukee on the west side of the 
river. 

FROM HISTORY OF THE KILBOURN FAMILY. 

(New Haven, Conn.: Durrie & Peck, 1856.) 

In 1834 and the beginning of '35, there was no white 
man's habitation between Chicago and Green Bay, except 
that of Mr. Solomon Juneau, on the Milwaukee river, who 
had been settled there many years in the fur trade with the 
Indians under John J. Astor's Company. Mr. Juneau was 
one of Nature's Noblemen, and was the very soul and em- 
bodiment of hospitality and good cheer. His house, or 
rather his lowly cabin, was a home, and a delightful one to 
every straggler in that wild region. Among his pleasantest 
recollections, Mr. Byron Kilbourn often adverted to the 
cheerful fireside scenes in that wildwood home after days of 
travel, toil and privations. 



HISTORICAL ATLAS OF WISCONSIN. 

(Snyder, Van Vechten & Co., Milwaukee, 1878.) 

The Juneau-Martin tract occupied what is now the 
Seventh ward, extending as far north as Division street.* 



•Juneau Avenue. 

I8l 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

Below it an additional tract was pre-empted by Peter Juneau, 
and was soon afterward purchased by Mr. Martin. Upon 
these claims the first survey of village lots was made in 
November 1834, by William S. Trowbridge, comprising four 
blocks along the river between Oneida and Huron streets, 
terminating eastward on East Water street. The following 
year twenty-six blocks were added, extending the plat south 
to Detroit street, thence along Detroit street to Van Buren 
street, and with the latter to Oneida, which formed its 
northern limits. Such were the first surveys on the east side 
of the river. 



INTERESTING LETTERS. 

Milwaukee. May II, 1840. 
Ramsey Crooks, Esq., Dear sir — This day I have a draft 
on you for one hundred and fifty dollars in favor of James 
H. Elmore, at 30 days, for a small lot of peltries of a very 
good quality — and advised by Mr. B. of the same. The 
country seems to be pretty much drained of skins, as we do 
not get much now nor hear of many acoming this way. 
There is a large lot of furs and skins in town unsold belong- 
ing to a man by the name of Sears. T made him an offer and 
he would not accept it. He left for the country and will be 
back in a few days. I shall try him again. 
Yours respectfully, 

(Signed) S. JuxiUr. 
Milwaukee. May 6, 1840. 

182 



MISCELLANEOUS DATA 

Wm. Brewster. Esq., 

Dr Sr— 

Enclosed I give you a copy of the bills of my purchases 
of yesterday and today of peltries. I had to pay a big price 
for some of them, but taking them all around they are a 
very fair lot. I at the same time advise Mr. Crooks of the 
draft in favor of Ludington, Birchard & Co., of $308.29. I 
could not yet do anything about Brown & Co's. peltries. 

Respectfully yours, 

S. Juneau. 



Milwaukee, May 16, 1840. 
Ramsey Crooks. Esq.. 

Dear Sir — I have this day made a small draft on you 
for $34, at forty days and in favor of Alexander Mitchell. 
I will advise Mr. Brewster, of Detroit, of the same. 
Respectfully yours, etc.. 

S. Juneau. 



Confidential. Milwaukie, Dec. 2j, 1841. 

To Lyman Woodworth. Esqr.. 
Peru, Clinton Co., N. Y. 
Dear Sir : — Through the acquaintance of your son Austin 
L. Woodworth, I take the liberty of addressing you in regard 
of transactions I have with Messrs. Granger & Slocnm in 

183 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

1836. Your son informs me that you have some knowledge 
of their business ever since 1836. 

Now Sir, I want you to do me the favor of examining 
the Records whether they have included two certain Promis- 
sory notes I hold against them, each of $3750 — in the assign- 
ment they have made of their property. If they have not, 
my intention is to commence a suit against them on those 
two notes — as there will be six years the 22nd day of Oct. 
next I hold those notes for property sold to them in the 
summer of 1836 bearing interest ever since — I have written 
them several times and have offered to settle in a manner 
very advantageously to them, & never had a satisfactory 
answer. Whether their intention is to elude the time as 
far as they can & until notes become outlawed and that then 
I cannot do anything with them, I cannot say, but if there 
is any chance for me to sue them I will do it as soon as you 
do me the kindness of a favorable answer, and any expence 
on your part shall be punctually paid, and any charges for 
your trouble also. 

& remain Respectfully 
J true copy. Your Obed — Serv — 

(Signed) S. Juneau. 

P. S. Please also to let me know about their circum- 
stances, if there is any possibility of getting anything from 
them and oblige etc. 



184 



MISCELLANEOUS DATA 

Mackinac 5th. July 1842. 
Solomon Juneau Esq., 
Milwakie 

Dear Sir : 
Your letter of 25th. June inclosing Memorandum for 
Goods has been received and I have sent to New York for 
the same, hope they will reach you at the time you want 
them. You will receive by the Schooner La Salle Six 
kegs gunpowder, ea. 25 lbs. Your account current will be 
made up & sent to you in due time with the Statement of 
your Furs & Skins received this season. Your otters, minks 
and foxes are not so good as you expect. I hope however 
you will be pleased with the prices allowed for each article. 
Very respectfully your obed. Sev't, 
Samuel Abbott 

Agt. Ame. Fur Co. 
P. S. Send me down the smoked 
deer-skins I asked you for. 

S. A. 



Esq. S. Juneau. Green Ba >- March IO - l8 4 2 - 

Dear Sir. 
Your kind letter of the 22nd February last was left at 
my house by Mr. Galerneau. At the time I was on a mis- 
sion at Manitowak and Twin Rivers, I had the pleasure of 
seeing him at that place just as I was returning to Green 
Bay. I have postponed answering your letter until now, 
impressed with the idea that he would shortly come back to 
Green Bay. I think different at present, and I presume that, 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

when I saw him, he was on his way home. Agreeably to 
your request, Dear Sir, I called on several persons who are 
in the habit of making the article which you wish to get. 
Having understood from every one of them that you couldn't 
be provided with any of that article in consequence of a 
pressing demand of the same here. I feel very sorry that the 
interest you are pleased to exhibit toward the sewing Catho- 
lic Society of our pdace, met with so unfavorable a return ; 
though you may remain under a free and full impression 
that it shall never be forgotten by your most respectful and 
affectionate friend F. J. BonduEL. 

My best respects to all inquiring friends, especially to 
your dear family, Doctor Hewitt and Mr. Pomeroy. 

Mr. Juneau, Dr. Sir — 

Mr. Coin being dead I find it my duty to make some 
arrangements for a temporary burial ground, having a great 
objection of burying any more belonging to our congregation 
on prespiterian ground. 

Could yon not permit us to use one of your lots — say 
one-half mile from your house — until next spring when 
every corps will be removed, which has been interred on it to 
a place which then will be consecrated for the purpose. 
Very respectfully, etc.. 
Yours, 

Martin Kundig, 

Pastor. 
Milwaukee. Saturday morning, Dec. 12, 1842. 

186 



SOLOMON JUNEAU'S ACCOUNT BOOKS. 

Oetr. 24th. 1836. Page 25 

I Funds Dr To S. Juneau 

33 W. M. Gardner $3. 50 

21 I. H. Rogers 5.25 

117 Leland 1.00 

70 Saw Mill Company 21.08 

j 06 Patrick Hamel 7.00 



$37-83 



Milwaukie 16th. August 1837. 89. 

133 Peter B. Grignon Dr. 

To 3 Linnen Bags last May for Mail on a/c 1.50 

Milwaukie Jany. 15th.. 1839. 123 

S. Juneau Dr. 

/Settled/ To 1 Bus. Peas for Indians (of Ripley) 

Milwaukie, Feby. 4th 1839. 125. 

75 Louis Franchere Dr. 

To 1 White vest 2.50 

Milwaukie 22 March 1839. 133. 

164 Hamilton Arndt Cr. 

By Amt. of Shingles on commission 145.03 

187 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

1 80 Schooner Solomon Juneau Dr. 

To 323 feet Lumber (26th) @ 20.00 6.46 

627 " " 27 " " 12.54 

y 2 lb. tea delivered the Mate 8/ .50 

Teaming mouth of the river 4.00 

1 Tin Wash Bowl .63 
Cash for Privisions (borrowed of 

I. Scherm 28.00 

do for washing 1.50 



134 



53-63 



24 
Milwaukie 20th. April, 1839 
180 Schooner Solomon Juneau Dr. 

To 15 lbs. Sugar @ 15c. 2.25 

" 1 lb. Tea @ 8/ 1.00 

" Cash paid to the Mate C. 

Stafford 20. so 



Page 136. 



2375 



Milwaukie July 20th 1839 

184 Catholic Church Dr. 

To 25 lbs. Spikes @ 14c 3.50 

" 101 1 feet Lumber clear @ 17.00 17.19 

" Cash paid Sheperdson's Bill 9.00 

" 13 lbs. Spikes 1.82 

Sept. 15 

" To Teaming at Sundry times 7.00 

" " ditto Sept. 25 1. 00 



141 



39-51 



188 



SOLOMON JUNEAU'S ACCOUNT BOOKS. 



Page 37 



Milwaukie 25th. May 1840. 



S. Juneau 


) 










for Am. Fur Co.) 










Bot. c 


fWn 


1. Brown & Co. 


340 Musk Rat 


3 skins 


pn 


UK 


@ 15c 


51.00 


2456 do do 


do 


c 


lo 


@ 1/ 


307.00 


1 01 Racoon 






" 


@ 10/ 


126.25 


8 She bear 


" 




" 


@ 6.00 


48.00 


2 he do 


" 




" 


@4-5o 


9.00 


7 Cub do 


" 




' 


@ 20/ 


I7-50 


2 Fishers 


" 




' 


@ 20/ 


5.00 


6 Otter 


" 




' 


(a) 7.00 


42.00 


5 Lynx 


" 




' 


@ 16/ 


10.00 


18 Fox 


<t 




' 


@ 10/ 


22.50 


142 Mink 


" 




' 


@ 4/ 


71.00 


15 Wolf 






@ 62c 


9-30 




718.55 




Cash to r 


ial 


ce up draft 


i-45 



720.00 



Received Pavmt bv draft on N. Y 



30 days Sight, in favor of A. Mitchell May 25th. 1840. 

Wm. Brown & Co. 
per A. Mitchell. 
189 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 



Milwaukie 6th May 1840 



S. Juneau) 








for Am. Fur Co.) 


Botof 


several persons 


176 Musk Rats Skins 


prime 


@ 15c 


26.40 


727 do do do 


do 


@ 14c 


101.78 


5 Racoons 


" 


@ 80c 


4.00 


2 do 


" 


@ 75c 


1.50 


1 Otter 


" 


@7.oo 


7.00 


17 Mink 


" 


@ 50c 


8.50 


5 do 


" 


@ 45c 


2.25 


1 Fox 


" 


@ 8/ 


1. 00 


4 Deer Skins with 


lair 


ea 5/ 


2.50 




$154-93 


Cash received to make up draft 


11.07 



$165.00 

The above paid by draft on W. Brewster in 
favor of A. Mitchell (Signed) S. Juneau. 



28 



190 



SOLOMON JUNEAU'S ACCOUNT BOOKS 

Page 40 
Milwaukie 29th May 1840 
Wm. Brewster Esqr. 
Dear Sir : 

Herewith you will receive per the Steamer, Great West- 
ern, 45 Packs & 4 boxes containing Furs & Skins as fol- 
lows — 



17261 


Musk Rat Skins. 


144 


Kittens do 


2159 


Racoons do 


820 


Mink 


331 


Foxes 


76 


Otters 


7i 


Martens " 


38 


Fishers " 


22 


Lynx " 


34 


Wildcat 


171 


Wolves 


1086 lbs 


. Deer Skins with Hair 


40 lbs 


. do do shaved 


6 


Fawn " 


10 


Dressed deer Skins 


17 


Bear 


14 


Cub do 


I will in a few 


days send you a few more and a statement 


of all my Winter and Spring trade. In haste 




Respectfully yours etc. 




S. Juneau. 




191 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 



Names taken from the pages of an old account book of 
Solomon Juneau, 1835 — 1842 : 

Curtis Reed, N. C. Prentiss & Co., Pettibone & Foster, 
L. Childs, Enoch G. Darling, Hans Crocker, Daniel Brown, 
Thomas Lowe, A. S. Hosmer, A. O. T. Breed, D. S. Hollis- 
ter, Hiram Elmore, W. N. Gardner, G. D. Dousman, George 
Barber, Dan'l Wells, Lucine Finch, B. W. Finch, Farns- 
worth & Brush, McDonald & Mallaby, A. B. Morton, A. M. 
Poff, L. Blanchard, L. M. Dubois, Jas. B. Miller, Joshua 
Hathaway, John Mullet, Peter Juneau, John Ogden & 
Douglas, Horace Putnam, Timothy Johnson, Alexis Galar- 
neau, Geo. O. Tiffany, Hiram Burnham, S. H. Rogers, 
Jacque Vieaux,John LaPointe, Charles Arsoneault, Pierre B. 
Grignon, Isaac Atwood, Geo. S. Hosmer, Joseph Precourt, 
R. Short, Narcisse Delany, Louis Ratel, Capt. Ripley, Dan'l 
Bigelow, Sr., Eli Bates, Jeridiah Rice, S. A. Hubbell, Abra- 
ham Bosler, B. H. Edgerton, Willis Noyes, Lee & Thurston, 
Cornelius Whitney, Capt. Hardell, Justin P. Fordham, Geo. 
Levier, Wm. Ryan, J. Girard & LeVesque, Levi Ault, Elisha 
Starr, Francois LeRoi. 



192 



Brief Biographies. 



AH-KE-NA-PO-WAY. 

The village of Ah-ke-na-po-way, (Standing Earth), a 
Menominee Indian chief, was located on the west side of the 
Fox River, Green Bay, about the middle of the eighteenth 
century. He was known to have two daughters and one son. 
Mah-tee-nose, (Madeline), Mrs. Joseph LeRoy, Wau-pa- 
no-kiew, the wife of Ashawaubomay, and Onaugesa. — Wis. 
Hist. Coll. 

JOSEPH LE ROI. 

Joseph LeRoi, an Indian trader, the grandfather of Mrs. 
Solomon Juneau, was of French and Indian extraction. He 
married Mah-tee-nose, (Madeline), the daughter of a Me- 
nomonee Indian chief, Ah-ke-na-po-way, (meaning Stand- 
ing Earth). Joseph LeRoi, with his wife and six children — 
two sons and four daughters — and a domestic were one of 
the first seven families to settle permanently in Green Bay. 
His home, which he built in 1776, (now known as the Tank 
Cottage, Union Park, Green Bay), stood on the west side of 
the Fox River, in Fort Howard. The daughters of Mr. 
and Mrs. Joseph LeRoi were: Mrs. Angelique Vieaux, 
Mrs. Margaret Guardipier, Mrs. Madeline Mosseau, Green 
Bay, and Mrs. Charlotte Campbell, Montreal, Can. The 

193 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

sons were Francis and Joseph Jr. This house is supposed 
to be the oldest now standing in Wisconsin. Joseph LeRoi 
sold the house to Judge Jacque Porlier in 1805. 

JACQUE VIEAUX. 

Jacque (James) Vieaux, father of Mrs. Solomon Juneau, 
who was a full blooded Frenchman, was born in lower Can- 
ada — in Cote-des-neige, (or Snow Court), a suburb of 
Montreal, May 5, 1757. He died on Private land claim No. 
14, (west side of Fox River), at Fort Howard, in what is 
now the Town of Ashawaubenon, July 1, 1852. His remains 
lie hurried in Allouez cemetery, Green Bay. He was mar- 
ried at Michilimackinac, (Mackinac), at the old mission 
church, by Rev. Dilhet, to Angelique LeRoi, daughter of 
Joseph and Madeline LeRoi. There were twelve children — 
Madeline, Paul, Joseph, Jacque, Jr., Louis Amable, Charles. 
Josette, (Mrs. Solomon Juneau), Andrew, Nicholas, Peter 
and Mary. Angelique LeRoi Vieaux died at the home of 
her son Joseph Vieaux, in the town of Lawrence. Brown 
County, Wis., Jan. 7, 1862, aged 86 years. She is buried 
in Allouez Cemetery, Green Bay. — A. J. Vieaux in Wis. 
Hist. Coll., pp. 218-220, Vol. XI. 

The house of Jacque Vieaux stood upon the beautiful 
grassy knoll just southeast of the present cattle yards. It 
was one of the most beautiful places then, and it is today, 
about Milwaukee. I often sit at my window and gaze across 
the marsh to this knoll ; and as I do so, my mind goes back 
to the time when naught was there but that old log trading 
house, and in my imagination see the wild scenes that have 
194 




* 



"If; 






BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES 

been enacted there by the red men in the olden times, all 
re-enacted again The last corn dance held in Milwaukee 
by the Indians, was upon that hill, in August, 1836. — J. S. 
Buck's Pioneer History of Milwaukee, Vol. II., p 39. 

O-NOT-SAH, 

(French, La Farinne, English, Flour). 

This man, a noted Menominee chief, was at least 100 
years old when the whites first came to Milwaukee. He was 
the great uncle of Mrs. Solomon Juneau, upon her mother's 
side. The writer will never forget the last time he saw this 
aged warrior, which was at the farm of Jacque Vieaux, in 
May, 1838. He was totally blind. Some of the family had 
helped the old man out of the house, and seated him upon 
a bench in the warm sun. He was perfectly nude, except 
his breech-cloth, and two young squaws were amusing them- 
selves by tickling him with straws, he thinking it was flies. 
The coal black eyes of these Indian belles were glistening 
like beads, at the futile efforts of the old chief, to rid himself 
of his imaginary tormentors. Their fun, however, was soon 
terminated by the appearance of Yieaux. upon the scene, 
causing them to flee to the woods. A playful smile stole 
over the old chieftain's wrinkled visage at the sound of 
Vieaux's voice, as it at once made him aware of the kind 
of flies he had been fighting. He seemed to enjoy the joke 
hugely. He went to Council Bluffs, that year, where he 
died, aged 112 years. 

197 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

He was the head war chief of the Milwaukee band, and 
was, when too old, succeeded by his son, Kow-o-sett, who 
was the acting chief when the whites came, and who died 
at Theresa, Dodge County, in August, 1847 — Jas. S. Buck's 
Pioneer Hist, of Mil., pp. 148-149. 

ONAUGESA. 

Onaugesa was an uncle of Mrs. Solomon Juneau on the 
maternal side. His village was at Milwaukee. He was 
married to a Pottawatomie wife. — Wis. Hist. Coll., p. 219, 
Vol. XL 

PIERRE JUNEAU. 

Pierre (Peter) Juneau, brother of Solomon Juneau, was 
born at L'Asumption, Can., September, 1795. In 1819 he 
came to Milwaukee. Mr. Juneau built a log cabin which 
stood in East Water street, about 200 feet south of Wiscon- 
son street. He married Miss Angeline Vieaux. (Miss 
Vieaux was born November 7, 1813, and died November 7, 
1867. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Juneau, 
two of whom are still living in Milwaukee. In 1835, Mr. 
Juneau erected a small frame dwelling at the corner of Wis- 
consin and Jefferson streets, later removing to the Town 
of Greenfield, where he resided until his death, which oc- 
curred December 28, 1865. 

Joseph Juneau, son of Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Juneau, is a 
resident of West Allis. Wis. He was married in 1857 to 
198 



BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES 

Miss Josephine Mathey. (Miss Mathey was born in 
Switzerland and came to America with her parents in 1855). 
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Juneau, five 
daughters and one son. Miss Margaret Cecelia Juneau mar- 
ried Wm. McFadzen. There are four children. Isabelle 
McFadzen, the eldest daughter, married Mr. Anderson. 
There are two children, Margaret and John Anderson ; the 
other children are, Arthur Ross, Donald and Ellis Juneau 
McFadzen. Miss Isabelle M. Juneau, married Charles 
Hathaway. There is one daughter, Eugenia Mary Hatha- 
way. Miss Mathilde Juneau married Jacob G. Kissinger. 
There are two daughters, the Misses Loraine and Marion 
Kissinger. The misses Mary and Maud Juneau reside with 
their father in West Allis. The son, William Joseph Juneau, 
the famous football coach of the Wisconsin University, mar- 
ried Miss Nona Murphy, of Brookings, S. Dak. Mr. and 
Mrs. Juneau have one son, Robert Joseph Juneau. Mrs. 
Joseph Juneau died in 1901, and is buried in the family lot 
at Calvary cemetery, Milwaukee. 

The second son, Pierre Juneau, Jr., is a resident of Mil- 
waukee, his home being on Greenfield Ave. Mr. Juneau is 
a veteran of the civil war. He enlisted in the Town of 
Greenfield, May 1, 1864, and was mustered out July 14. 
1865. He is also one of the oldest mail carriers in Mil- 
waukee. 

NARCISSE JUNEAU. 

Narcisse Juneau, brother of Solomon, was born in 
L'Asumption, Can. He came to Wisconsin during the sum- 
199 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

iner of 1848, settling in Theresa, where he engaged in farm- 
ing. Mr. Juneau was married twice, his first wife being 
Miss Victoria Marceau, of L'Asumption. There was one 
daughter, Odella. His second wife was Miss Amelia 
Shuray. There were five sons. Uchere, Cleophs, Solomon, 
Joseph and Paul. Paul Juneau was married at Theresa 
Dec. 28, 1867, to Miss Catherine O'Neal. Mr. and Mrs. 
Juneau have eight children, one son and seven daughters. 
They are, Joseph, Mary, Margaret, Charlotte, Elizabeth, 
Angeline, Eliza and Theresa. Paul Juneau is a resident of 
Rudolph, Wis., where he is engaged in farming. Narcisse 
Juneau and wife died at Grand Rapids, Wis. Mr. Juneau 
in 1875, and Mrs. Juneau in 1889. 



ANGELINE JUNEAU. 

Angeline Juneau, half-sister of Solomon Juneau, was 
born in L'Asumption, Can., in 1826. She was married in 
L'Fontaine, Can., to Mr. Joseph Gothiea, in 1853, and came 
to Wisconsin that year, settling in Theresa, Wis. Three 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gothiea, Mrs. Nels. 
Passeneau. of Grand Rapids, Wis., a daughter who is a 
resident of Chicago and Joseph Gothiea, Jr.. an inmate of 
the Soldiers' Home in Minnesota. In 1874 Mr. and Mrs. 
Gothiea left Theresa to make their home with their daughter, 
Mrs. Passeneau, of Grand Rapids, where Mrs. Gothiea died 
in 1900. Mr. Gothiea died March. 1916. He had reached 
the advanced age of 94 years. 

200 




C. A. A. McGEE. 



BRTEF BIOGRAPHIES 

CHARLES A. A. McGEE. 

Mr. Charles A. A. McGee, only son of Anna Josette 
Juneau and James McGee, was born at Oconto, Wisconsin, 
May 25th, 1874. Mr. McGee has three sisters, Olive Jane, 
Edith Juneau and Pauline Letitia. His early youth was 
spent in the lumber districts of northern Wisconsin and 
northern Michigan. He moved with his parents to Milwau- 
kee in 1890. Mr. McGee was graduated from the Mil- 
waukee common schools and high school. He attended the 
State University at Madison, Wisconsin, for five years, 
specializing in the Civic Historic Course and graduating 
from the Law Course in 1899. At the University Mr. Mc- 
Gee was active in athletics, debating and oratory. In 1896, 
while working on a debate on the subject of "Bi-Metallic 
Standard," he conceived the idea and, together with three 
associates, wrote a book, "The Truth About Money," which 
book was adopted by the Republican National Committee as 
an official text-book for speakers. In the Presidential cam- 
paign of 1896 Mr. McGee, although but twenty-two years of 
age, was sent out by the State and National Republican 
Committees throughout Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota 
and Illinois, discussing the money question and upholding 
the gold standard, in joint debate with many competitors of 
National reputation. The teammate of Mr. McGee in this 
campaign was Mr. Henry F. Cochems. Since his majority 
Mr. McGee has been active in public life and has cam- 
paigned from coast to coast, earning National reputation as 
203 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

a campaign orator. In his college days he was elected 
Treasurer of the National College Republican League. He 
started in the practice of law in the City of Milwaukee in 
the Fall of 1899. In 1909 and 191 1 he was Special Assistant 
District Attorney and also District Attorney of Milwaukee 
County. In February, 1913, Mr. McGee moved to San 
Diego, California, where he is at present engaged in the 
practice of law with the firm of Henning, McGee and 
Collier. Mr. McGee is a member of the Delta Tau Delta, 
Greek letter Fraternity, likewise Phi Delta Phi, Legal Fra- 
ternity. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, K. P. and 
Supreme Officer of the Royal Order of Moose. Mr. McGee 
has been twice married, first to Mrs. Gustave M. Mann and 
upon her death, later married Anna Meyer, both being 
daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Adolf H. Meyer of Milwaukee. 
There are three children, Elisabeth Mann McGee, Juneau 
Theiline Netha McGee and Anna Helene McGee. 



204 




PAUL O. HUSTING. 



BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES 

PAUL O. HUSTING. 

Paul O. Hasting, second son of Jean Pierre and Marie 
Juneau Husting, was born at Fond du Lac, Wis., April 25, 
1866. He removed with his parents to Mayville, Wis., in 
1876; attended the public schools of Fond du Lac and May- 
ville, until his seventeenth year, when he accepted a position 
as clerk in a general store in his home town ; was clerk in 
the Mayville postoffice ; railway postal clerk ; mail clerk at 
the Wisconsin state prison and was clerk in the office of 
Secretary of State Tom Cunningham. It was while acting 
in this capacity that he decided to take up the study of law 
and entered the University of Wisconsin in 1895. By 
passing the rigid state bar examination, he was admitted to 
the bar in December of that year, and commenced the prac- 
tice of law at Mayville ; he was elected district attorney in 
1902 and again in 1904: was elected state senator in 1906 
from the thirteenth senatorial district, and re-elected in 
1910; was elected United States senator in 1914. Mr. Hust- 
ing has the distinction of being the first United States sena- 
tor elected under the new state primary law,. The Milwau- 
kee Journal of February 6, 1913, says of him: "Paul O. 
Husting, of Mayville, is the Stephen A. Douglas of the Wis- 
consin State Senate, for while he is the most diminutive 
member of the upper branch of the Legislature, he is a 
giant in debate." By perseverance, hard work and clean 
political tendencies, Mr. Husting stands today among the 
foremost men of the country, a credit to the state which he 
represents at the National Capital. He possesses many 

207 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

notable characteristics, chief among which are his love for 
and devotion to his parents, who have long since passed 
life's meridian, and who are spending the evening of their 
life in the old home at Mayville. Mr. Husting is a counselor 
of the law firm of Husting & Husting at Mayville and Fond 
du Lac. 

HERCULES JUNEAU. 

Hercules Juneau, of Dodge City, Kas., nephew of Solo- 
mon Juneau, was born at L'Asumption, Can., and came to 
Wisconsin in the forties. There is no doubt but that Juneau, 
Alaska, was named in honor of Hercules Juneau, as he was 
successful in securing a territorial code of laws, and was 
also prominent in securing law and order for Alaska. Mr. 
Juneau is a veteran of the Civil war. He enlisted as sergeant 
at Kekoskee, Wis., September 14, 1861 ; was wounded at 
Perryville and Chickamauga ; was taken prisoner, was dis- 
charged September 5, 1864, on account of wounds. He is a 
32nd Degree Mason, Mt. Juneau Lodge No. 147, F. & A. 
M., of Juneau, Alaska, being organized by him. Mr. Juneau 
is engaged in the lumber and hardware business at Dodge 
City. 

ALFRED JUNEAU. 

Alfred Juneau, son of Honore Juneau, who was a cousin 
of Solomon Juneau, was born at St. Paul L'Hermite, 
Province of Quebec, Can. Mr. Juneau came to Wisconsin 
in 1883, settling in Marinette, where he married Miss 
Clarinda St. Amuir in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Juneau have a 
large family. 

208 



ROMANCE OF WA-PA-NO-KIEW 

The following is taken from the "Narrative of A. J. 
Vieaux, Sr." — Wis. Hist. Coll., pp. 234-237, Vol. XL: 

I ought to tell you the tradition that exists among the 
French Creoles, of Green Bay, as to the naming of Ashwau- 
benon creek and town. A prominent young Ottawa Indian 
arrived from Mackinaw in early days. He was the son of a 
chief at L'Arbor Croche, near Mackinaw, and came here 
with Jacob Franks in 1795. He was apparently much at- 
tached to the whites and their habits, was peaceable, intelli- 
gent, brave and handsome. Upon the arrival of the young 
Ottawa at Green Bay, he courted the acquaintance of 
Ahkeeneebaway (Standing Earth), who was an old Menom- 
onee chief on the west side of the river, in what is now Fort 
Howard; the latter took the newcomer into his family and 
made much of him, for he had pleasing ways and was indeed 
a fine fellow. 

The Chippewas lived on Lake Shawano, in those days. 
Occasionally they would come to Green Bay on a spree, for 
the Menomonees and Chippewas were always friendly. One 
day in the month of June, a year or two after Mr. Franks 
came, a number of young Menomonee squaws went out 
blueberrying. They had quite a frolic among themselves, 
but finally one of them was missing. The girls made a 
diligent search for their comrade, but finally gave up in 
despair and were obliged to return to their village and report 
the loss to her parents. For several days the search was 
209 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

repeated, until at last a trail was discovered, going west- 
ward. 

Then the old warriors declared that the girl had been 
kidnapped by the Chippewas : and so it proved to be. Old 
Standing Earth at once sent runners through his village and 
soon there was a crowd at the council house, where the pipe 
of deliberation was smoked and the affair discussed in all 
its bearings. It was concluded that a party of fifty warriors 
should be sent to the Chippewa village on Lake Shawano, 
to demand the captive and bring her back. Standing Earth, 
presiding at the council, called for volunteers, asking those 
who wished to go upon this expedition to come over and sit 
down by his side. It was not long before there were enough 
for the purpose. The young Ottawa had been the first to 
respond. Then said Standing Earth, "It only remains for 
me to select a leader for the party ;" and turning to the 
Ottawa, he continued, "My son, you shall take charge of this 
party and whatever you do will be right." The Ottawa, 
much confused, replied, "My father, I do not know I am 
worthy of undertaking such a responsibility ; you have other 
warriors, and perhaps I ough not to accept; but if it is your 
will, I will accept and do the best I can." Standing Earth 
insisted, and all the warriors were glad that the young man 
was to be their leader. 

The party started out. They reached Lake Shawano a 
little before night and slept in the bush a half mile from the 
Chippewa village. At daybreak the leader said to his war- 
riors, "Keep still, I will go myself into the village. Do not 



ROMANCE OF WAU-PA-NO-KIEW 

stir till I give the war whoop. But when I do give it, then 
strike, cut and kill. Meanwhile do not stir." So the brave 
Ottawa crept through the bushes, in the early morning, when 
the Chippewa hunters had gone out into the woods to kill 
game for the morning meal. Softly he slid into the silent 
village and lifted the mat over the door of the first wigwam 
he came to. Peering in, he could see nothing of the missing 
girl. And so he lifted the mats and peered in at the doors 
of several lodges, as he crouched and crept along, until at 
last he was rewarded. She was sitting at the further end of 
a long lodge. Several old women were squatting around a 
fire, between him and the object of his search. He dropped 
the mat behind him and quickly stepping up to the girl, 
motioned her to follow him. While he was passing out with 
his prize, the women did not' stir from their places, but they 
gave him vicious sidelong looks, full of hate and silent 
threats. He paused for a moment, on the outside, much 
tempted to go back and tomahawk them ; but he refrained 
from doing so, and rejoined his party with the girl. 

At Fox Hill, two miles west of the Fox river, they were 
met by a large party of welcoming Menomonees, whom 
runners had notified of the result of the expedition. That 
night, there was great jollification among all the Menomo- 
nees hereabouts. 

A council was held the following day, in the presence of 

all. Old Standing Earth gave to the brave Ottawa a new 

name, — Ashawaubomay, meaning "Side looks," in remem 

brance of the ugly glances which the old Chippewa women 

211 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

had given him. His name, up to this time, had been Little 
Crow. Standing Earth, who was noted for his sagacity, 
greatly praised the forbearance displayed by Ashawaubo- 
may in not tomahawking the old women and thus opening 
a bloody quarrel between the Chippewas and Menomonees ; 
then he said: "My son, you are a young man; I wish to 
see you prosper ; you are entitled to choose two of the 
prettiest squaws in the village. Now choose!" Thereupon 
Ashawaubomay replied : "If I were a double man I would 
want two wives ; but being single, I want but one." Stand- 
ing Earth smiled and said: "Choose, then!" And Asha- 
waubomay then declared, "I take your youngest daughter, 
Wap-pa-no-kiew (Morning Star)." There was great re- 
joicing in the camp when Standing Earth ordered his beauti- 
ful daughter brought forward, and told her that Ashawaubo- 
may was henceforth to be her husband. That the young 
chief might not be without a home, Standing Earth gave him 
a grant of land, running from the Ashawaubenon river to 
the foot of Depere Rapids, a mile long on the west side of 
the river, and running back some three miles. 

The morning after the council. Ashawaubomay and his 
beautiful young squaw went in a canoe up the river, to the 
south side of the creek, quite near its mouth, and located. 
They raised a large family of children and lived as nearly 
like whites as possible. Ashawaubomay was indeed a fine 
Indian, — quite like a white man. He was buried on his 
little farm, on the shore of the creek. 



•Foot Note — Wau-pa-no-kiew (Morning Star), was the great aunt 
of Mrs. Solomon Juneau. 

212 




Ill 



FROM WIGWAM TO PALATIAL BUILDING. 
Northwest Corner of East Water and Wisconsin Streets. — 1816-1916. 



CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD. 

1789 — Francois and Therese La Tulipe, (changed to 
Juneau), fled from France and sought refuge in 
L'Asumption, Can. 

1793 — August 9, Solomon Laurent Juneau was born at 
L'Asumption, Can. 

1803 — April 16, Josette Vieaux was born at Fort Howard, 
Wis. 

1815 — February 15, Theresa Juneau, mother of Solomon 
Juneau, died at L'Asumption, Can. 

1816 — Solomon Laurent Juneau arrived at Michillimacki- 
nac, (meaning great turtle), in September, at the age 
of 23 years. 

1818 — Solomon Laurent Juneau appointed agent of the 
American Fur Company at Milwaukee. 

1820 — Solomon Laurent Juneau married at the old mission 
church, Green Bay, to Josette Vieaux. 

1823 — First vessel, Chicago Packet, (schooner, Capt. Brit- 
ton), landed at Milwaukee with goods for Solomon 
Juneau and took away furs ; second vessel was the 
Virginia, (Capt. Wilson.) 

1824 — First frame building was erected for Solomon Juneau 
on the premises now known as lot 1, block 3, Third 
Ward. It served as a school house, justice office, 
recorder's office, jail and barber shop. 

1828 — Francois Juneau, father of Solomon Juneau, died at 
L'Asumption, Can. 

215 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

1833 — Solomon Juneau established an Indian trading post 
at Theresa, and named the place in honor of his 
mother ; first Monday in October, first election held 
at residence of S. Juneau for the purpose of choosing 
a delegate to Congress. 

1 83 1 — Solomon Juneau became a naturalized citizen of the 
United States. 

1835 — First postoffice was established in Milwaukee and 
Solomon Juneau appointed postmaster, which office 
he held for nine years; was elected commissioner of 
public roads ; erected two-story frame dwelling on 
East Water and Michigan streets. 

1835 — S. Juneau erected store building on site of old ware- 
house. 

1835 — August, the first title to land upon which now stands 
the City of Milwaukee, was obtained by Solomon 
Juneau at the land sale held at Green Bay. 

1836 — Schooner Solomon Juneau was built at Milwaukee 
by George Barber, for Solomon Juneau ; Solomon 
Juneau erected store building on Wisconsin street. 

1836 — June 13, Solomon Juneau had first ground broken for 
grading and filling of East Water street. 

1835 — Solomon Juneau erected store building. East Water 
and Wisconsin streets, at what is now known as No. 
401 E. Water street and on the site of his old ware- 
house. 

216 



CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD 

1837 — Milwaukee was incorporated as a village and Solo- 
mon Juneau elected president ; Milwaukee Sentinel 
established by Solomon Juneau ; during the month of 
August the first Catholic services were held at the 
home of Solomon Juneau. Rev. Fleurimont Bonduel 
officiating. 

1838 — First government lighthouse built on bluff at the head 
of Wisconsin street, on land donated by Solomon 
Juneau. 

1840 — The Old Settlers' Club of Milwaukee was organized. 

1 84 1 — Steamer Milwaukee. Solomon Juneau part owner, 
was run on the bar at the mouth of the Milwaukee 
river. 

1842 — January 12, Solomon Juneau's house, East Water 
and Michigan streets, was sold to S. R. Bradley and 
opened as a hotel. 

1844 — Solomon Juneau was elected register of deeds of 
Milwaukee County. 

1846 — Milwaukee became a city and Solomon Juneau was 
chosen first mayor. 

1847 — Solomon Juneau retired as Mayor of Milwaukee. 

1850 — Resolution adopted by the Common Council of Mil- 
waukee to purchase Solomon Juneau's portrait, (by 
Samuel M. Brooks), for the Council Chamber. Price 
paid was $400.00. 

1852 — Solomon Juneau and his family left Milwaukee to 
make their home in Theresa, Wis. 
217 



SOLOMON JUNEAU 

1855 — November 19, Mrs. Solomon Juneau died at Milwau- 
kee from the effects of an operation. 

1855 — November 24, old light house razed, the brick being 
sold to Emanuel Shoyer, and used in the erection of 
a store building. 

1856 — November 14, Solomon Juneau died on the Menom- 
inee Indian reservation at Keshena, Wis., while 
attending an annual payment ; was buried on the 
reservation ; later remains were removed to Milwau- 
kee and interred in the Catholic cemetery at the head 
of Spring street. 



Foot Note — A number of the above dates were taken from Jas. S. 
Buck's Pioneer Hist, of Milwaukee. 



DERIVATION OF THE WORD MILWAUKEE. 

Augustin Grignon in his "Recollections," in Vol. III., 
State Historical publications, states on the authority of an 
Indian, that the word Milwaukee is derived from a certain 
aromatic root, called "Man-wau. ;" hence, "Mah-a-wau-kee," 
or the land or place of the "Man-wau." Also that it simply 
means pleasant land, or good land. — Pioneer History of 
Milwaukee, (Jas. S. Ruck), Vol. II., p. II. 

In the Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XII., p. 
393, M. Gaudin, says it is from Minwaki, (good land). Mr. 
Gunroe derives Milwaukee from Minewaki, (a promontory), 
pr. Mee-nai-wau-kee. Such a promontory does project into 
the river there, being known of old as Walker's Point. — 
Chippewa Geographical Names. 
218 



